Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway | |
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Railway station | |
Coordinates | 20°10′12″S28°34′48″E / 20.17000°S 28.58000°E Coordinates: 20°10′12″S28°34′48″E / 20.17000°S 28.58000°E |
History | |
Opened | inaugurated 15 July 1999 [1] |
The Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway (BBR) is a privately owned railway company that provides a rail link in Zimbabwe between Beitbridge at the South African border and Zimbabwe's second city Bulawayo.
The 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge BBR is a build-operate-transfer project that has shortened the distance between Bulawayo in Zimbabwe and South Africa to 317 kilometres (197 miles). Prior to its inauguration, rail service between South Africa and Bulawayo used a route through Botswana that is about 200 kilometres (120 miles) longer. The shorter line has been used primarily for freight transportation. The principal contractor was Concor.
New Limpopo Projects Investments Limited (NLPI), a Mauritius registered company, specialises in private sector investments using the build-operate-transfer (BOT) concept.
The BBR is one of the three connected NLPI railway operations in Zimbabwe and Zambia that form a rail link between South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo. [2]
The BBR was inaugurated on 15 July 1999. After 30 years of service the BBR will be handed over to the National Railways of Zimbabwe at no cost. It has had a profound negative impact on the profitability of Botswana Railways that saw its Zimbabwe-related freight volume drop by 90,000 to 10,000 tons. [3]
Transportation in Botswana is provided by internal and extensive network of railways, highways, ferry services and air routes that criss-cross the country.
Matabeleland South is a province in southwestern Zimbabwe. With a population of 683,893 as of the 2012 census, it is the country's least populous province. After Matabeleland North, it is Zimbabwe's second-least densely populated province. Matabeleland South was established in 1974, when the original Matabeleland Province was divided into two provinces, the other being Matabeleland North. The province is divided into six districts. Gwanda is the capital, and Beitbridge is the province's largest town. The name "Matabeleland" is derived from Ndebele, the province's largest ethnic group.
The government of Zimbabwe is the main provider of air, rail and road services; historically, there has been little participation of private investors in transport infrastructure.
Francistown is the second largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 100,079 and 150,800 inhabitants for its agglomeration at the 2011 census. and often described as the "Capital of the North". It is located in eastern Botswana, about 400 kilometres (250 mi) north-northeast from the capital, Gaborone. Francistown is located at the confluence of the Tati and Inchwe rivers, and near the Shashe River and 90 kilometres from the international border with Zimbabwe. Francistown was the centre of southern Africa's first gold rush and is still surrounded by old and abandoned mines. The City of Francistown is an administrative district, separated from North-East District. It is administered by Francistown City Council.
Zambia Railways (ZR) is the national railway of Zambia, one of the two major railway organisations in Zambia, which may also be referred to as Railway Systems of Zambia (RSZ). The other system is the binational TAZARA Railway (TAZARA) that interconnects with the ZR at Kapiri Mposhi and provides a link to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam.
The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), formerly Rhodesia Railways, is a state-owned company in Zimbabwe that operates the country's national railway system.
Beitbridge is a border town in the province of Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe. The name also refers to the border post and bridge spanning the River Limpopo, which forms the political border between South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Gwanda is a town in Zimbabwe. It is the capital of the province of Matabeleland South, one of the ten administrative provinces in the country. It is also the district capital of Gwanda District, one of the seven administrative districts in the province.
Transnet Freight Rail is a South African rail transport company, formerly known as Spoornet. It was part of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration, a state-controlled organisation that employed hundreds of thousands of people for decades from the first half of the 20th century and was widely referred to by the initials SAR&H. Customer complaints about serious problems with Transnet Freight Rail's service were reported in 2010. Its head office is in Inyanda House in Parktown, Johannesburg.
Botswana Railways (BR) is the national railway of Botswana.
Rail services in Botswana are provided by Botswana Railways in Botswana. Most routes in the country radiate from Gaborone. The railway network consists of 888 km, its gauge is 1,067 mm cape gauge.
Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique is a state-owned company that oversees the railway system of Mozambique and its connected ports.
The South African Railways Class 34-200 of 1971 is a diesel-electric locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 34-600 of 1974 is a diesel-electric locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 34-800 of 1978 is a diesel-electric locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 35-000 of 1972 is a diesel-electric locomotive.
The South African Railways Class 35-400 of 1976 is a diesel-electric locomotive.
The Transnet Freight Rail Class 43-000 of 2011 is a South African diesel-electric locomotive.
Sheltam is a locomotive hire and repair company that undertakes complete operating contracts and maintenance contracts, based in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. By the year 2000, Sheltam locomotives were operating at Randfontein Estates Gold Mine in Gauteng, and in Mpumalanga at Douglas and Vandyksdrift Collieries and at SAPPI, Ngodwana. They also operated on Spoornet’s Newcastle-Utrecht branch in KwaZulu-Natal and on Kei Rail in the Eastern Cape. Outside South Africa they operate on the Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway (BBR), NLL and Railway Systems of Zambia (RSZ) lines through Zimbabwe and Zambia and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Beira-Bulawayo railway, also called Machipanda railway, Beira-Harare-Bulawayo railway and Beira railway, is a railway that connects the city of Beira, Mozambique, to the city of Bulawayo, in Zimbabwe. It is 850 km long, in a 1067 mm gauge.