‘Trains are sexy, buses are not’: Mega-Project Mythology And South Africa’s Gautrain

Abstract

The train – concrete, sexy, transport of intimate memories and powerful ideas
– provides a solid basis for political support. Technologies with negative symbolic connotations cannot do that. Neither can complex, abstract ideas that would reformulate the way transportation systems as a whole are organised. The reduction of complex problems to simple ones is a natural function of the mind: not only does it appear to clear away ambiguity, but it creates ‘solutions’ which are attainable. The problems of freeway congestion cannot be eliminated overnight; but a rail system, symbolic of free-flow, can indeed be installed.