Malawi Railways was a government corporation that ran the national rail network of

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

, Africa, until privatisation in 1999. With effect from 1 December 1999, the Central East African Railways consortium led by

Railroad Development Corporation The Railroad Development Corporation is an American railroad holding company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It operates several short line railroads outside the United States and acts as an investor, with management and institutional investor ...

won the right to operate the network. This was the first rail privatisation in Africa which did not involve a

parastatal A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...

operator.

History

Upon achieving independence in 1964, Malawi, which had previously been the British

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. After ...

, inherited a network of three railways. They were the Shire Highlands Railway from Salima, on

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, () is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is ...

, via

Blantyre Blantyre is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with a population of 800,264 . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Lilongwe. It is ...

to Port Herald (now

Nsanje Nsanje (formerly Port Herald) is the main city in Nsanje District within the Southern Region of Malawi. The intense urbanization in the fertile Shire River valley has formed an extensive urbanized zone that runs from the city of Bangula, furth ...

) on the

Shire River The Shire is the largest river in Malawi. It is the only outlet of Lake Malawi and flows into the Zambezi River in Mozambique. Its length is . The upper Shire River issues from Lake Malawi and runs approximately before it enters shallow Lake Malo ...

; the Central African Railway from Port Herald to Vila Fontes (now Caia), in

Portuguese Mozambique Portuguese Mozambique () or Portuguese East Africa () were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese Empire, Portuguese overseas province. Portuguese Mozambique originally constituted a str ...

; and the Trans-Zambezia Railway, from Vila Fontes to Beira, also in Portuguese Mozambique. The network was run as a single, integrated Malawian system, even though the Trans-Zambezia Railway was located entirely on foreign territory. All of these lines were narrow gauge and single track, and the Shire Highlands Railway in particular had sharp curves and steep gradients, so the system was inadequate for heavy train loads. Maintenance costs were high and freight volumes were low, so freight rates were up to three times those of Rhodesian and East African lines. Although costly and inefficient, the rail link to Beira remained a main

bulk transport Bulk cargo is product cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. Description Bulk cargo refers to material in either liquid or granular, particulate (as a mass of relatively small solids) form, such as petroleum/crude oil, ...

link until 1979 when it was destroyed by

RENAMO RENAMO (from the Portuguese , ) is a Mozambican political party and militant group. The party was founded with the active sponsorship of the Rhodesian Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) in May 1977 from anti-communist dissidents oppos ...

forces in the civil war. By then, Malawi had its second rail link to the Mozambique port of

Nacala Nacala (also known as Cidade de Nacala or Nacala-Porto) is a city on the northern coast of Mozambique. Located in the southwestern indentation of inner Fernao Veloso Bay, it is the deepest natural port on the east coast of Africa. Nacala serves a ...

, which is its principal route for imports and exports today. From 1974 to 1979, Malawi worked with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) sponsored to build of new track from Salima to Lilongwe though the Malawi-Canada Railway Project.

Present day overview

The gauge line extends from the

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

n border at

Mchinji Mchinji is a town and the capital of the Mchinji District in the Central Region, Malawi, Central Region of Malawi. Mchinji Boma, located from the Zambian border and from the national capital, Lilongwe, is the major hub of government and genera ...

in the west via

Lilongwe Lilongwe (, ,) is the capital and largest city of Malawi. It has a population of 989,318 as of the 2018 Census, up from a population of 674,448 in 2008. In 2020, that figure was 1,122,000. The city is located in the central region of Malawi, i ...

to Blantyre and Makhanga in the south. At

Nkaya Junction Nkaya, also known as Nacaia, is a town in Malawi, located in the district of Balaka and in the Southern Region of the country. In 2022 the local Rivi Rivi River which feeds the Shire River diverted by about 500 metres as the result of rainfall ...

it links with the Nacala line going east via Nayuchi to

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

's deepwater port at

on the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. The link south from Makhanga to Mozambique's Beira corridor has been closed since the

Mozambique Civil War The Mozambican Civil War () was a civil war fought in Mozambique from 1977 to 1992 due to a combination of local strife and the polarizing effects of Cold War politics. The fighting was between Mozambique's ruling Marxist Mozambique Liberation ...

, with plans for reconstruction not yet realised. An extension from

Chipata Chipata is a city and administrative centre of the Eastern Province of Zambia and Chipata District. It was declared the 5th city of the country, after Lusaka, Ndola, Kitwe and Livingstone, by President Edgar Lungu on 24 February 2017. The cit ...

opened in 2010, and there is a proposal to eventually link up from there with the TAZARA railway at

Mpika Mpika is a town in the Muchinga Province, Zambia, Muchinga Province of Zambia, lying at the junction of the M1 road (Zambia), M1 road to Kasama, Zambia, Kasama and Mbala, Zambia, Mbala and the Tanzam Highway (Great North Road, Zambia, Great North ...

. Freight traffic is predominantly exports through Nacala, including sugar, tobacco, pigeon peas and tea. Import traffic consists of fertiliser, fuel, containerised consumer goods and food products including vegetable oil and grain. A government subsidised passenger rail service operates twice weekly from

to the border with Mozambique at

Nayuchi Nayuchi is a town located in Machinga District in Malawi. Serving as a border post for road and rail control between Malawi and Mozambique. The Rivirivi Bridge was damaged by Cyclone Delfina in January 2003 and reopened in 2005. Nacala Port and Railway was concessioned to the same CEAR consortium in January 2005. In July 2006, the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

(

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

) sent 4 R20 series ( EMD G12) diesel electric locomotives R56, R57, R58 and R59 to Malawi Railways. Two of them are used as shunters and the other two have never been used.

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Central East African Railways

Malawian Railways 1970-74
{{Africa in topic, Rail transport in Rail transport in Malawi 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Malawi