Botswana Railways (BR) is the national railway of

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalaha ...

History

Botswana Railways (BR) was established in 1987 when the

government of Botswana The Government of Botswana often abbreviated as GOB, is the union government created by the constitution of Botswana having the executive, parliament, and the judiciary. The Seat of the Government is located in Gaborone, Botswana. The governmen ...

bought out the Botswana-based sections of the

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 ...

(NRZ). NRZ had been initially operating the rail system after Botswana had gained independence. Management of the BR is supported by RITES Ltd. of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The opening of the Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway in

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 ...

in 1999 resulted in a major drop in the volume of freight transit and income. As a response the BR has been considering the construction of a direct line to

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

(

Zambia Railways Zambia Railways (ZR) is the national railway company of Zambia, one of the two major railway organisations in Zambia. The other system is the binational TAZARA Railway (TAZARA) that interconnects with the ZR at Kapiri Mposhi and provides a link to ...

), bypassing

, to regain income from transit. On 27 February 2009, an announcement was made of the termination of all Botswana Railways passenger services. However, passenger trains run by National Railways of

(NRZ) continue to run from

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council ...

Lobatse Lobatse is a town in south-eastern Botswana, 70 kilometres south of the capital Gaborone, situated in a valley running north towards Gaborone and close to the border with South Africa. Lobatse has a population of 29,772 as of 2022. The town is an ...

via Plumtree,

Francistown Francistown is the second largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 103,417 and 147,122 inhabitants for its agglomeration at the 2022 census. and often described as the "''Capital of the North''" or as the natives would have it “''T ...

and

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its agglomeration is home to 421,907 inhabitants at the 2011 census. Gaboron ...

. As of October 2010, BR was building a large

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

near

station, and expressed hopes that passenger services might resume, although BR could not give any concrete details. In December 2014 Botswana Railways announced that they will purchase new passenger cars and locomotives and that passenger services would resume in late 2015. A passenger service between

and

, marketed under the name BR Express, eventually began operation in March 2016.

Network

The Botswana Railways system consists of of Cape gauge track. The main line runs through the south-eastern region of Botswana from

Mahikeng Mafikeng, officially known as Mahikeng and previously Mafeking (, ), is the capital city of the North West Province (South Africa), North West province of South Africa. Close to South Africa's border with Botswana, Mafikeng is northeast of Cape ...

in South Africa through

Mahalapye Mahalapye is a town located in the Central District of Botswana. The town has about 41,000 inhabitants and is situated along the main road between the capital Gaborone and the second largest city Francistown. Mahalapye has a bus station, a rail ...

Palapye Palapye is a growing town in Botswana, situated about halfway between Francistown and Gaborone ( from Francistown and from Gaborone). Over the years its position has made it a convenient stopover on one of Southern Africa's principal north–sout ...

and

to Plumtree in Zimbabwe. In addition there are three branch lines: from Palapye to

Morupule Colliery The Morupule Colliery is a coal mine located in Palapye, Botswana, owned and operated by Debswana, a partnership between the government of Botswana and De Beers. The coalfield is composed of four main seams, only one of which, the No. 1 Seam, is ...

, from

Serole Serole is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about south of Asti. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 166 and an area of .All demographics and othe ...

Selebi-Phikwe Selebi-Phikwe (also spelt ''Selibe Phikwe'') is a mining town located in the Central District of Botswana. It had a population of 42,488 in 2022. The town is an administrative district, separate from the surrounding Central District. Mining ...

, and from Francistown to

Sowa The SoWa Art & Design District (South of Washington) in the South End of Boston, Massachusetts, USA, is a community of artist studios, contemporary art galleries, boutiques, design showrooms, and restaurants. Once an area of neglected warehouse ...

. *Main Line - 640 km *Francistown to Sua Pan (branch line) - 174.5 km *Palapye to Morupule Colliery (branch line) - 16 km *Private Sidings - 50 km *Service Sidings - 20 km *Station Yards - 30 km *Crossing Loops - 20 km

Fleet

Locomotives

As of December 2017 *8 General Electric UM 22C diesel-electric locomotives, 1982 *20 General Motors Model GT22LC-2 diesel electric locomotives, 1986 *10 General Electric U15C diesel electric locomotives, 1990 * 8 General Motors Model ( GT42AC) diesel electric, 2017

Purchase of passenger cars and locomotives

In December 2014 Botswana Railways announced that they would purchase three generator vans, five first class

sleepers ''Sleepers'' is a 1996 American legal crime drama film written, produced, and directed by Barry Levinson, and based on Lorenzo Carcaterra's 1995 book of the same name. The film stars Kevin Bacon, Jason Patric, Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Dustin H ...

, 18 economy class coaches, five business class coaches, three buffet cars and a luggage van.

Regional train

Botswana Railways run 2 nightly passenger trains, one from

, and the other from Francistown to Lobatse, with stops in

, and Serule. The passenger train is termed the "BR Express".

Commuter train

BR Express operates a commuter train system between

and

. The train departs from

at 05:30 and arrives at

in 06:49. The train returns to

in the evening, departing from

at 18:00 and arriving at

at 19:34. The train stops at Otse, Ramotswa and Commerce Park Halt.

Railway links to adjacent countries

Botswana Railways are connected to

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

n lines, both using the same gauge. There is no direct connection with

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, but one does exist via South Africa, although an electrified railway connecting to

Lüderitz Lüderitz is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It lies on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island. The town is known for its colonial architecture, includ ...

for coal traffic was scheduled to open in 2006. In August 2010,

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 ...

and

signed a

memorandum A memorandum ( : memoranda; abbr: memo; from the Latin ''memorandum'', "(that) which is to be remembered") is a written message that is typically used in a professional setting. Commonly abbreviated "memo," these messages are usually brief and ...

of understanding to develop an 1100 km railway through

, to carry coal from Serule in Botswana to a deep-water port at Techobanine Point in

. A new rail link between

and

, bypassing

, was mooted in 2005 by Botswana Railways (BR) general manager Andrew Lunga. The line was envisaged as running south-westwards from Livingstone, crossing the

Zambezi The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

, then continuing to a junction with the existing BR tracks at

Mosetse Mosetse is a village in Central District of Botswana. It is located along the road from Francistown to Nata. The population was 1,661 in 2001 census. Mosetse lies along the Mosetse River, which ultimately discharges to the Sua Pan, a part of t ...

. Lunga's proposal arose following the serious loss of traffic suffered by BR following the opening of the Beitbridge-Bulawayo line, after which annual BR freight tonnage fell from 1.1m per annum to about 150,000.

's economic problems had worsened the situation, prejudicing free traffic flow. The suggested line, Lunga pointed out, would provide important alternative routes linking

and the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

.RailwaysAfrica
/ref>

Gallery of Botswana Rail

Botswana Rail Express train.jpg, Botswana railways Train at

station Botswana Rail Express train2.jpg, Francistown Station Botswana Rail Express train5.jpg,

Cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

train at

station Botswana Railways (BR EXPRESS).jpg, Botswana Rail showcasing their work at the World telecommunications and informations society day 2017 Blue_Train_in_Notwane_Bridge.jpg, Botswana railways train passing the Notwane bridge, in

References

External links

Botswana Railways
{{Authority control Railway companies of Botswana 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Botswana Botswana companies