Testing times: an eight car Gautrain on the test track

While work on the Gautrain continues, its CEO repeated on Thursday his intention to complete part of the project by the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

"We do plan, that it is our intention that as it [part of the Gautrain's route] starts it will be near 2010," Gautrain Management  Agency head Jack van der Merwe told journalists in Johannesburg before a tour of the project.

The agency intended completing the train between Sandton and OR Tambo and begin testing the track a month before the cup starts.

"We are trying to get the two aligned and we are trying to accelerate."

However, he cautioned that the Gautrain's usefulness would be contingent on supplementary public transport programs such as the Bus Rapid Transit system and the taxis. Van der Merwe also said that project had gone R300 million over budget due to foreign currency fluctuations.

Foreign exchange, though, was not the only challenge remaining. The project, along with 2010 stadium building projects, was under threat by a National Union of Mineworkers' strike.

The union had announced plans to meet in Johannesburg on Saturday to discuss planning for the strike. It was demanding a 13 percent increase for its workers. The employers, represented by the  SA Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors (Safcec) was offering 10 percent.

Safcec on Wednesday filed an interdict to stop the strike, claiming it was illegal due to it being "premature".  The two sides  were expected to meet in the Labour Court on Friday.

Van der Merwe would not comment on negotiations and said the Gautrain Management Agency was deferring to Safcec, of which it was  a member. He did however express hope that an understanding would be reached.

"Let's see if the negotiations can sort it out before it gets too bad."

The agency currently had 350 active work sites.  A possible strike would influence some of those more than others, van der Merwe said.

Sapa

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