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Sandton (Gautrain station)

Sandton
Gautrain rapid transit station
Sandton Gautrain Station.JPG
Outside view of Sandton Station
Line(s)
Platforms 1 island platform (upper level)
1 side platform (lower level)
Tracks 3
Construction
Depth 45 m (148 ft)
Disabled access Yes
History
Opened 8 June 2010
Services
Preceding station   Gautrain   Following station
Terminus Airport Line
toward Park Station
North-South Line
toward Hatfield

Sandton is a metro station on the Gautrain rapid transit system in Sandton, Johannesburg. It opened to traffic on 8 June 2010 with service to OR Tambo International Airport.

Sandton station is located in the neighbourhood of the same name in northern Johannesburg, specifically near the Sandton City/Nelson Mandela Square developments at the intersection of Rivonia and West Streets.

Developers and the Gauteng government aimed to make Sandton station the centre of one of the first transit-oriented development projects in South Africa. Because of the area's financial importance, with the being a major focal point, and location near a number of important roads, such development also required an upgrade of the arterial road network in the surrounding area.

The area surrounding Sandton station was divided into six management areas, which cover land use, development density, and pedestrian accessibility. Management Area 1, bounded by Sandton Street, Katherine Street, Rivonia Road, and Fredman Drive, encircles Nelson Mandela Square and the immediate vicinity of the station and is planned to contain buildings of up to 40 storeys with a development density of 110 units per hectare, thus categorising it as high-density and mixed-use. In addition, a series of pedestrian corridors traverse the district, creating a grid to enable more pedestrian-friendly development and to encourage walking and sustainability. Subsequent and more distant management areas have lower height restrictions of ten to fifteen storeys while maintaining the 110 units per hectare density requirement, which centralises development towards a defined central business district.

Architecturally, Sandton is unique amongst Gautrain stations. Although it is not the only underground station, it is the only one with a two-level platform arrangement. The upper level serves trains on the north-south axis of the system, with trains heading southbound to Park Station in central Johannesburg and northbound to Pretoria, while the lower level has only one platform and acts as the terminus for OR Tambo International Airport-bound trains.


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