The Beira Railroad Corporation, (''Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro da Beira'' in Portuguese) or CCFB, was a joint venture railway company that was responsible for operating the railway lines in central
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
. It was formed to reform the railway lines that run from the
Port of Beira
The Port of Beira is a Mozambican port located in the city of Beira, capital of the Sofala Province. It is located in Sofala Bay, which forms a huge complex with the mouth of the Pungoe River, known as the Beira estuary, facing the Mozambique Ch ...
, Mozambique, originally linking to
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
, although it later also linked to
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...
.
Formed in 2005, it was made up of 51% of Ricon's capital (a consortium of Indian state-owned companies
Rites
Rail India Technical and Economic Service Limited, abbreviated as RITES Ltd, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Indian Railways, Ministry of Railways, Government of India. It is an engineering consultancy corporation, specializing in the field ...
and
Ircon International
Ircon International, or Indian Railway Construction Limited (IRCON), is an Indian engineering & construction corporation, specialized in transport infrastructure. The public sector undertaking was established in 1976, by the Indian Railways und ...
), and 49% of state-owned
Mozambique Ports and Railways
Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (abbreviated CFM; in English Mozambique Ports and Railways) is a state-owned company that oversees the railway system of Mozambique and its connected ports.
The rail system is composed of a total of 2,9 ...
(CFM). Its concession was revoked in 2011 for non-compliance with contractual obligations.
History
The Beira railway has two major segments, the
Machipanda line to Zimbabwe, and the
Sena line to the coal fields of
Moatize
Moatize is the principal town and administrative center of Moatize District in western Mozambique's Tete Province. It is located on the eastern side of the Zambezi River at the confluence of the Moatize and Revuboe Rivers. After Tete, it is the ...
with further connection to Malawi.
In 2005, the Mozambican government privatized the stretch between the cities of Beira and
Machipanda, part of the Beira-Bulawayo Railway (or Machipanda line). The privatization contract required the winning company to renovate the railway (which was destroyed by the 1977-2002 civil war), in addition to carrying out periodic maintenance of infrastructure and transporting cargo and passengers between the aforementioned cities.
The winning company was Ricon (a consortium of Indian state-owned companies Rail India Technical and Economic Service and Ircon International). An agreement was signed to create a joint venture company, Beira Railroad Corporation (CCFB). Ricon would hold 51% of the capital of CCFB, while 49% would belong to state-owned Mozambique Ports and Railways (CFM).
In 2011, CCFB's concession was revoked for non-compliance with contractual obligations and for failures in the works. The CCFB Concession was returned to CFM.
[Nova era para Corredor da Beira. Centro de Informação de Negócios - CIN. 10 de outubro de 2013.]
See also
*
Benguela railway
*
Congo Railway
Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa:
* Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...
*
History of rail transport in Mozambique
*
Malawi Railways
*
National Railways of Zimbabwe
The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), formerly Rhodesia Railways, is a state-owned company in Zimbabwe that operates the country's national railway system.
It is headquartered in the city of Bulawayo. In addition to the headquarters, it has ...
*
Railway stations in Mozambique
Railway stations in Mozambique include:
Towns served by railways
(The lines do not all connect, or connect indirectly)
Northern system
(northernmost) (CDN) (from west to east)
* Nayuchi - Malawi - border town.
* Malema - way station
** R ...
*
Transport in Mozambique
Modes of transport in Mozambique include rail, road, water, and air. There are rail links serving principal cities and connecting the country with Malawi, Zimbabwe and South Africa. There are over 30,000km of roads, but much of the network is unpa ...
*
Zambia Railways
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Indian management of Beira railroadRailroads of Central and Southern Africa* {{PM20, FID=co/049689, TEXT=Documents and clippings about, NAME=
Railway companies of Mozambique
2 ft gauge railways in Mozambique
3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Mozambique