Public input and involvement in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process has become a critical aspect of urban management. Public participation ensures that the potential environmental impacts of projects are communicated to the public and, where possible, public input may assist in mitigating these potential impacts. Public participation therefore plays a critical role in the EIA process in South Africa. This article evaluates the differing opinions of Interested and Affected Parties (I&APs) and project consultants in the public participation process, undertaken as part of the Gautrain EIA process. The Gautrain mega-engineering project has undergone one of the biggest EIAs in the country. The investigation finds significant differences between the opinions of I&APs and the project consultants regarding the efficiency to which I&APs utilise the information provided, the adequacy of the information provided to I&a