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Layover guideJohannesburg · JNB

Getting out of the airport in Johannesburg

A dedicated airport train runs from the terminal to Sandton, and the trap is the last one.

Baron Maddock / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0
All of Johannesburg

The Airport Service is its own line, indicated by the gold line on the route map, running Sandton, Marlboro, Rhodesfield, OR Tambo. Airport passengers sit in the carriages with the aircraft sign on the doors, which are configured for luggage, and Gautrain states those doors do not open at Rhodesfield.

The operator publishes trains every 10 minutes during peak periods, which on weekdays are 06:00 to 08:30 and 16:00 to 18:30, and every 20 minutes off-peak. On weekends and public holidays trains run every 20 minutes between 09:00 and 16:00, and every 30 minutes between 05:30 and 09:00 and between 16:00 and 20:30.

Gautrain states that the last train from the airport has no connection to the Northern or Southern stations, and that the last trains from those stations have no connection to the airport. A late return is not a matter of catching any train, it is a matter of catching one specific one.

There is no single airport fare to memorise. The single trip airport fare is levied automatically if the journey starts or ends at OR Tambo, it is deducted from the Pay-As-You-Go section of a Gautrain Card, weekly and monthly products do not apply to airport travel, and the operator prices each station pair through its own fare calculator.

Gautrain publishes that the system offers no discounts to pensioners, airport or airline staff, and that concessionary fares do not apply. Crew ID buys nothing on this railway.

  1. Gautrain: System User Guide · checked 2026-09-03
  2. Gautrain: fare calculator · checked 2026-09-03
  3. Airports Company South Africa: OR Tambo public transport · checked 2026-09-03

The rest of Johannesburg

The whole guide
Ride-hailingBook in the app, get in the car the app names, and expect to walk to the driver rather than the other way round.Local laws that catch crew outCarry a passport copy, declare your money online before you fly, and do not eat on the train.Staying connectedA South African SIM does nothing until it is registered under RICA, and a passport is the document that does it.WeatherHigh and bright, with storms common in Gauteng and winter nights that can reach freezing.Eating near the crew hotelsCards work nearly everywhere, the service charge only appears for a table of more than six, and everything else you leave is the tip.What to buyThe 15% VAT is reclaimable at OR Tambo, but only if you show the goods to Customs before you fly.TippingTipping is commonplace in South Africa and the tourism authority publishes the numbers, so there is little to guess at.