TransNamib
Encyclopedia
Government-owned corporation
A government-owned corporation, state-owned company, state-owned entity, state enterprise, publicly owned corporation, government business enterprise, or parastatal is a legal entity created by a government to undertake commercial activities on behalf of an owner government...
of Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
. Organised as a holding company
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
, it provides freight by rail and road as well as passenger services. Its administration is located in Windhoek
Windhoek
Windhoek is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level. The 2001 census determined Windhoek's population was 233,529...
.
History
A first local railway was constructed in 1895 by the Damaraland Guano Company for commercial purposes. The first public railway, and the core of the present system, was constructed by the German Colonial GovernmentGerman South-West Africa
German South West Africa was a colony of Germany from 1884 until 1915, when it was taken over by South Africa and administered as South West Africa, finally becoming Namibia in 1990...
. The 383 km connection between Swakopmund
Swakopmund
Swakopmund is a city on the coast of northwestern Namibia, west of Windhoek, Namibia's capital. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. As a seaside resort, the weather is cooler here in December to January so the territorial administration moves to Swakopmund for these months...
and Windhoek
Windhoek
Windhoek is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level. The 2001 census determined Windhoek's population was 233,529...
was inaugurated on June 19, 1902. The German colonial railway was taken over by the Railways of South Africa after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and linked into the network of 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...
. After the independence of Namibia, TransNamib took control of the national rail network.
Operations
TransNamib operated 2,883 km of rail in 1995. Since then, further track has been added to the network through the Northern Extension. It operates on narrow gauge. While focus has been primarily on freight services, passenger services are an important component of TransNamib and provided under the Starline logo. The “Desert Express” is a tourist train to link Windhoek and SwakopmundSwakopmund
Swakopmund is a city on the coast of northwestern Namibia, west of Windhoek, Namibia's capital. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. As a seaside resort, the weather is cooler here in December to January so the territorial administration moves to Swakopmund for these months...
.
In early 2011, the Karasburg
Karasburg
Karasburg is city of 4,000 inhabitants in the Karas Region of southern Namibia and the district capital of the Karasburg electoral constituency. It lies at the heart of the southern Namibian sheep farming industry.- Location :...
- Ariamsvlei
Ariamsvlei
Ariamsvlei is a small border post between Namibia and South Africa, located 70 km east of Karasburg on the national road B3. It lies at 804 metres above sea level. The border post on the South African side is called Nakop....
mainline was damaged by flash flood
Flash flood
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas—washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a storm, hurricane, or tropical storm or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields...
s, as was part of the Seeheim
Seeheim
Seeheim is a settlement in Karas Region, southern Namibia. The only notable structures in Seeheim today are the hotel and the railway station; only a handful of people live there. Seeheim belongs to the Keetmanshoop Rural electoral constituency.- History :...
-Lüderitz
Lüderitz
Lüderitz is a harbour town in south-west Namibia, lying on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island.- Overview :...
line; services were suspended.
Major lines and stations
- Windhoek-Tsumeb/Walvis Bay
- Windhoek Railway StationWindhoek Railway StationWindhoek Railway Station is a railway station in Windhoek, Namibia. It is an important station, a nodal point of the TransNamib railway. It has lines which lead eventually to Tsumeb, Oshikango, Gobabis, Keetmanshoop and Upington, South Africa....
- OkahandjaOkahandjaOkahandja is a town of 14,000 inhabitants in Otjozondjupa Region, central Namibia, and the district capital of the Okahandja electoral constituency. It is known as the Garden Town of Namibia. It is located 70km north of Windhoek on the B1 road...
- Karibib
- SwakopmundSwakopmundSwakopmund is a city on the coast of northwestern Namibia, west of Windhoek, Namibia's capital. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. As a seaside resort, the weather is cooler here in December to January so the territorial administration moves to Swakopmund for these months...
- Walvis BayWalvis BayWalvis Bay , is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies...
- Swakopmund
- OmaruruOmaruruOmaruru may refer to:* Omaruru, Namibia* Omaruru Constituency* Omaruru River...
- OtjiwarongoOtjiwarongoOtjiwarongo is a city of 20,000 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia. It is the district capital of the Otjiwarongo electoral constituency and also the capital of Otjozondjupa....
- TsumebTsumebTsumeb is a city of 15,000 inhabitants and the largest town in Oshikoto region in northern Namibia. Tsumeb is the home of the world-famous Tsumeb mine, and the "gateway to the north" of Namibia. It is the closest town to the Etosha National Park...
- Windhoek Railway Station
- Northern Extension:
- Tsumeb
- Ondangwa (completed 2006)
- OshikangoOshikangoOshikango is a village in northern Namibia and a border post to Angola. Since 2004 it is part of the town of Helao Nafidi but still maintains its own village council. It is the district capital of the Oshikango Constituency...
(under construction, with future link to AngolaAngolaAngola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
)
- Winhoek-Gobabis
- Windhoek
- NeudammNeudamm Railway StationNeudamm Railway Station is a railway station serving the settlement of Neudamm in Namibia. It is part of the TransNamib Railway, located along the Windhoek to Gobabis line....
- OmitaraOmitaraOmitara is a settlement in the Steinhausen electoral constituency in the Omaheke Region of Namibia. Together with the adjacent village of Otjivero — the two places are often referred to as one — it has a population of approximately 1,200 as of October 2008...
- GobabisGobabisGobabis is a town in eastern Namibia. It is the regional capital of the Omaheke Region, and the district capital of the Gobabis electoral constituency. Gobabis is situated down the B6 motorway from Windhoek to Botswana. The town is from the Buitepos border post with Botswana, and serves as an...
- Windhoek-Upington
- Windhoek
- RehobothRehoboth, NamibiaRehoboth is a town of 21,000 inhabitants in central Namibia just north of the Tropic of Capricorn. Located on the B1 road, 90 kilometres south of the Namibian capital Windhoek, Rehoboth lies on a high elevation plateau with several natural hot-water springs. It receives sparse mean annual rainfall...
- MarientalMariental, NamibiaMariental is a town of 10,000 inhabitants in south-central Namibia, lying on the B1 national road 145 miles north of Keetmanshoop and 170 miles southeast of Windhoek. It lies at an elevation of 3,576 feet . Mariental is connected to the TransNamib railway line from Windhoek to Keetmanshoop...
- MaltahöheMaltahöheMaltahöhe is a village in Namibia, about 110 km west of Mariental in the Hardap Region.The settlement has about 2,400 inhabitants. Maltahöhe got its name from the German Hauptmann Henning von Burgsdorf who supervised a police station of the German colonial administration there in 1895. He...
- Maltahöhe
- Gibeon
- AsabAsabAsab is a settlement in the Karas Region of southern Namibia. It is situated on the B1 national road about halfway between Mariental and Keetmanshoop. east of Asab is the Mukurob rock pinnacle, a tourist attraction that collapsed in 1988....
- TsesTsesTses is a village in Karas Region, Namibia with a population of approximately 1000; probably 1000 more live in the surrounding semi-desert farming hinterland. It is situated one kilometre off the main B1 highway from Windhoek to Cape Town and Johannesburg, opposite the turning to Berseba and...
- KeetmanshoopKeetmanshoopKeetmanshoop is a city in Karas Region, southern Namibia, lying on the Trans-Namib Railway from Windhoek to Upington in South Africa. It is named after Johann Keetman, a German industrialist and founder of the city....
- SeeheimSeeheimSeeheim is a settlement in Karas Region, southern Namibia. The only notable structures in Seeheim today are the hotel and the railway station; only a handful of people live there. Seeheim belongs to the Keetmanshoop Rural electoral constituency.- History :...
- LüderitzLüderitzLüderitz is a harbour town in south-west Namibia, lying on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island.- Overview :...
- Lüderitz
- KarasburgKarasburgKarasburg is city of 4,000 inhabitants in the Karas Region of southern Namibia and the district capital of the Karasburg electoral constituency. It lies at the heart of the southern Namibian sheep farming industry.- Location :...
- Upington, South Africa
See also
- Rail transport in NamibiaRail transport in NamibiaRailways in Namibia describes the provision of rail service as a mode of transportation in Namibia. Rail service in Namibia is provided by TransNamib...
- Transport in Namibia
- South African Class 32-200South African Class 32-200In June and July 1966 the South African Railways placed ten Class 32-200 GE U20C1 diesel-electric locomotives in service in South West Africa..- Manufacturer :...
- South African Class 33-400South African Class 33-400Between July 1968 and March 1970 the South African Railways placed one hundred and fifteen Class 33-400 GE U20C diesel-electric locomotives in service...
- Otavi Mining and Railway CompanyOtavi Mining and Railway CompanyThe Otavi Mining and Railway Company was a railway and mining company in German South-West Africa...