Isando (G 9)

Name: Isando


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The establishment of the railway line between Pretoria and Vereeninging, heralded the early beginnings of what is now known as Kempton Park. The railway cut through a farm in the area known as Zuurfontein. A station was built and this became the gathering place for the local farming community.

In 1895, the government planned an explosives factory at Modderfontein on the outskirts of Edenvale, and anew railway line was constructed in order to transport building materials to the factory site. In establishing this link, a triangular piece of land was isolated. Carl Fredrich Wolff, who was the negotiator between the government and the explosives factory, bought the land and had it subdivided. He named it Kempton Park Estates, after the town in Germany where he had come from called Kempton.

Three major factors brought about the growth of Kempton Park: the discovery of gold, the building of the explosives factory at Modderfontein and the building of Zuurfontein railway station. In addition, the building of the railway workshops, the installation of electricity and the availability of labour from the nearby black townships, made their own contributions to this steady growth.

Electricity in particular opened the way for the industrial sites of Isando and Spartan to be established, helped by the availability of the railway to transport raw materials and manufactured goods. A further major impetus for growth came in 1945 when Jan Smuts Airport (now known as Johannesburg International Airport) was proclaimed. The creation of large numbers of jobs prompted black labourers from the rural areas to flow into the area in search of work. This created pressure on the overcrowded townships and informal settlements began to spring up. Planning took place in 1950 to establish a separate town which could accommodate workers from Kempton Park, Germiston, Edenvale and Modderfontein, culminating in the formation of the town of Tembisa in 1956.

In 1994 Tembisa amalgamated with Kempton Park and so began a programme of development by the council. The aim was to establish equity in the facilities available to all of its citizens. In recent years the areas of development have been varied. Roads have been tarred, storm water drains put in, sewerage systems upgraded, anew fire station has been built, taxi rank facilities improved and security cameras installed. In addition new sports facilities, hawker training and gardening projects have helped to alleviate some of the social problems.


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Rhodesfield Station is situated east of Anson Street, south of Valencia Street, west of OR Tambo International Airport and immediately to the south of the Kempton Park CDB. Rhodesfield is close to the R21 and Aero City.

Station platforms are elevated and located approximately one third of the way along Viaduct 15, directly above the existing PRASA (Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa) railway lines running between Isando and Kempton Park.

The station entrance, concourse and parking area will be positioned at ground level on the eastern side of the existing PRASA railway lines. In the longer term, access to the station would also be possible from the western side of the existing PRASA railway lines. This will be dependant on future integrated planning between Gautrain and PRASA.

Airport service train coaches will not be accessible for general passengers at Rhodesfield Station. Therefore, daily commuters using the general passenger services will only be able to embark or disembark at Rhodesfield, Marlboro or Sandton stations. The airport link can only be accessed from Sandton Station or OR Tambo International Airport Station


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