History of rail transport in Mozambique
Encyclopedia
The history of rail transport in Mozambique began in the latter years of the nineteenth century.
colony
. In the 1870s, there were initial plans to link the then Lourenço Marques - now Maputo
- by railway line with the area around Johannesburg
in South Africa
. The planned line would have provided the independent Boer republics
in the north of South Africa with access to a port. However, the province of Transvaal
, to which Johannesburg belonged, was then a British possession.
, as the Delagoa Bay Railway. The line crossed into South Africa at Ressano Garcia and Komatipoort
. In connection with the opening of this line, the Gaza Empire
in southwestern Mozambique was immediately subjugated by the Portugese, because it endangered the safety of the rail traffic.
, which was to link the Mozambican port of Beira with the then Salisbury in Rhodesia - today Harare
in Zimbabwe
. By 1900, this line was in service, in gauge (Cape gauge
) throughout.
, on the border with Swaziland
, so that Swaziland, a British colony at that time, could export its natural resources. In 1909, this line was opened.
, now Malawi
. In the north of Mozambique, a line was built from the port of Nacala
via Nampula
and Cuamba
to Nyasaland, where it connected with the Nyasaland rail network. A branch line ran from Cuamba north to Lichinga
, near Lake Malawi
.
, a 120 km (75 mi) long line was built from Quelimane
on the Indian Ocean north to Mocuba. It has no connection with any other railway lines.
As a result of the Mozambican civil war
from 1977 to 1992, the railway was severely restricted. Some lines were destroyed by war, such as the Beira–Sena–Moatize
and the link from Sena to Malawi (Sena line), after the bridge over the Zambezi at Sena was blown up.
The Nacala–Cuamba line in the north of the country was rebuilt in the 1990s, but the section to the Malawian border remained impassable. In 2004, Mozambique was given a loan from the World Bank to rebuild several lines. Also in 2004, the CCFB, 51% owned by two Indian companies and 49% owned by the CFM, acquired the concession for the operation of the Beira Railway and the rebuilt Sena line.
In 2008, the route length of the network as a whole was 3100 km (1,926 mi). Since then, several other lines have been reopened.
Beginnings
The Mozambique of the nineteenth century was a PortuguesePortugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
colony
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
. In the 1870s, there were initial plans to link the then Lourenço Marques - now Maputo
Maputo
Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...
- by railway line with the area around Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The planned line would have provided the independent Boer republics
Boer Republics
The Boer Republics were independent self-governed republics created by the northeastern frontier branch of the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of the north eastern Cape Province and their descendants in mainly the northern and eastern parts of what is now the country of...
in the north of South Africa with access to a port. However, the province of Transvaal
South African Republic
The South African Republic , often informally known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer-ruled country in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century. Not to be confused with the present-day Republic of South Africa, it occupied the area later known as the South African...
, to which Johannesburg belonged, was then a British possession.
Delgoa Bay Railway
On 1 March 1890, Mozambique's first railway line was opened between Lourenço Marques and Ressano Garcia. Only in 1895 did operations commence on the rest of the line, across the border to PretoriaPretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, as the Delagoa Bay Railway. The line crossed into South Africa at Ressano Garcia and Komatipoort
Komatipoort
Komatipoort is a town situated at the confluence of the Crocodile and Komati Rivers in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The town is 8km from the Crocodile Bridge Gate into the Kruger Park, and just 5km from the Mozambique border and 65km from the Swazi border. It is a small, quiet town with some...
. In connection with the opening of this line, the Gaza Empire
Gaza Empire
The Gaza empire was an African empire established by the powerful general, Soshangane, and was located in southeastern Africa in the area of southern Mozambique and southeastern Zimbabwe...
in southwestern Mozambique was immediately subjugated by the Portugese, because it endangered the safety of the rail traffic.
Beira Railway
In 1891, Portugal and the United Kingdom signed a contract for the construction of the Beira RailwayBeira Railroad Corporation
The Beira Railroad Corporation is a railway company formed by a lease from the Mozambique Ports and Railways to the Indian Rites and Ircon International consortium to operate a railroad that originates from the port of Beira, Mozambique as terminal...
, which was to link the Mozambican port of Beira with the then Salisbury in Rhodesia - today Harare
Harare
Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...
in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. By 1900, this line was in service, in gauge (Cape gauge
Cape gauge
Cape gauge is a track gauge of between the inside of the rail heads and is classified as narrow gauge. It has installations of around .The gauge was first used by Norwegian engineer Carl Abraham Pihl and the first line was opened in 1862.- Nomenclature :...
) throughout.
Goba line
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the railway network of Mozambique was expanded. From 1903, a 54 km (34 mi) long line was built from Lourenço Marques to GobaGoba, Mozambique
- Transport :Goba is served by a railway station on the southern network of Mozambique Railways and is just before the Swazi border....
, on the border with Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
, so that Swaziland, a British colony at that time, could export its natural resources. In 1909, this line was opened.
Sena line
In 1912, a contract was signed for the construction of a line from Beira to the Nyasaland ProtectorateNyasaland
Nyasaland or the Nyasaland Protectorate, was a British protectorate located in Africa, which was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Since 1964, it has been known as Malawi....
, now Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
. In the north of Mozambique, a line was built from the port of Nacala
Nacala
Nacala, also known as Cidade de Nacala or Nacala-Porto is on the northern coast of Mozambique is the deepest natural port on the east coast of Africa. It serves as the terminal for the Nacala Railway, a rail link to the landlocked Malawi...
via Nampula
Nampula
Nampula is the capital city of Nampula Province in Mozambique.It has a population of 471,717 making it the third largest city in Mozambique after Maputo and Beira. It is home to the Mozambique National Ethnographic Museum, several markets, cathedrals and mosques.It is also the center of business...
and Cuamba
Cuamba
Cuamba is a city and district of Niassa Province in Mozambique, lying north west of Mount Namuli. Before independence the town was known as Nova Freixo .It lies on the EN8 road and is connected to the city of Nampula in the east.- Transport :...
to Nyasaland, where it connected with the Nyasaland rail network. A branch line ran from Cuamba north to Lichinga
Lichinga
Lichinga is the capital city of Niassa Province of Mozambique. It lies on the Lichinga Plateau at an altitude of 1360 metre, east of Lake Niassa . The town was founded as Vila Cabral as a farming and military settlement...
, near Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi , is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the Great Rift Valley system of East Africa. This lake, the third largest in Africa and the eighth largest lake in the world, is located between Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania...
.
Zambézia line
In the province of ZambéziaZambezia Province
Zambezia is the most-populous province of Mozambique, located in the central coastal region south-west of Nampula Province and north-east of Sofala Province. It has a population of 3,794,509 . The provincial capital is Quelimane on the Bons Sinais River.Zambezia has a total area of...
, a 120 km (75 mi) long line was built from Quelimane
Quelimane
Quelimane is a seaport in Mozambique. It is the administrative capital of the Zambezia Province and the province's largest city, and stands 25 km from the mouth of the Rio dos Bons Sinais . The river was named when Vasco da Gama, on his way to India, reached it and saw "good signs" that he was on...
on the Indian Ocean north to Mocuba. It has no connection with any other railway lines.
Management of the colonial railways
All of Mozambique's colonial railways were operated initially by chartered companies, for which the lines were one of their main sources of income, alongside the collection of taxes and profits from agriculture. Only in 1941 was the last concession company nationalized, thus bringing the railways under the total ownership of the Portuguese colonial authorities.Independence period
In connection with the independence of Mozambique, the national railway company, Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique, was founded on 25 June 1975. It was later renamed Porto e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique ("Mozambique Ports and Railways")and also took over the operation of sea ports.As a result of the Mozambican civil war
Mozambican Civil War
The Mozambican Civil War began in 1977, two years after the end of the war of independence. The ruling party, Front for Liberation of Mozambique , was violently opposed from 1977 by the Rhodesian- and South African-funded Mozambique Resistance Movement...
from 1977 to 1992, the railway was severely restricted. Some lines were destroyed by war, such as the Beira–Sena–Moatize
Moatize
Moatize is a town and district located in Tete Province in Mozambique. It is located near the town of Tete and near the Zambezi River.- Economy :...
and the link from Sena to Malawi (Sena line), after the bridge over the Zambezi at Sena was blown up.
The Nacala–Cuamba line in the north of the country was rebuilt in the 1990s, but the section to the Malawian border remained impassable. In 2004, Mozambique was given a loan from the World Bank to rebuild several lines. Also in 2004, the CCFB, 51% owned by two Indian companies and 49% owned by the CFM, acquired the concession for the operation of the Beira Railway and the rebuilt Sena line.
In 2008, the route length of the network as a whole was 3100 km (1,926 mi). Since then, several other lines have been reopened.
See also
- History of MozambiqueHistory of MozambiqueMozambique was a Portuguese colony, overseas province and then a member state of Portugal. It became independent from Portugal in 1975.-Pre-colonial history:...
- Rail transport in Mozambique