South African high-speed rail link will not be ready for start of football World Cup
A major project for next year’s World Cup in South Africa will not be ready, it has been revealed.
A high-speed rail link will not be operational until at least two weeks into the tournament, a spokesperson for the project told the BBC.
Organisers of the 2010 event had hoped fans would be able to board the high-speed train from Johannesburg airport.
But now most fans’ initial experience will be in a taxi or shuttle bus in a traffic jam, the BBC said.
Builders have been working on the £2bn Gautrain project over the past three years, linking Johannesburg, Pretoria and the airport.
But under pressure to finish before next June, contractors demanded an additional £107m to accelerate their work. The South African government refused.
In its assessment of South Africa’s readiness for the 2010 World Cup, Fifa said it had identified a lack of transport and infrastructure as well as a shortage of accommodation as likely problems.
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