Botswana railway news
News about railway and urban rail infrastructure, operations, policy, projects and the supply industry in Botswana.
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News
Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana sign draft railway agreement
AFRICA: Transport ministers from Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana have signed a draft trilateral agreement for the implementation of the US$6·5bn Ponta Techobanine Railway Project which would improve links between the three countries. The signing at a meeting in Harare on August 2 builds on a 2011 ...
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Botswana – Zimbabwe through working agreement signed
AFRICA: A through working agreement has been signed enabling National Railways of Zimbabwe locomotives to operate to Francistown in Botswana, and Botswana Railways locos to run through to Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. NRZ said eliminating the need to change locomotives at the border would cut delays and ...
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News
Botswana – South Africa rail enhancements agreed
AFRICA: An agreement in principle to provide landlocked Botswana with more efficient rail access to South African ports has been announced by Botswana Railways and Transnet Freight Rail. The two operators are to collaborate to upgrade sections of the 126 km South African line between Swartruggens ...
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Country profile
South Africa, Namibia, Botswana & Eswatini - country map
South Africa, Namibia, Botswana & Eswatini: national rail network map
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Organisations
Ministry of Transport & Communications, Botswana
The ministry has responsibility for transport policy, and supervising transport parastatals including Botswana Railways. The predecessor to the current ministry was established in 1984 as part of preparations for rail infrastructure that was then owned and operated by the National Railways of Zimbabwe being transferred to Botswana in 1987. AddressWest ...
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Organisations
Botswana Railways
First line in what is now Botswana opened in 1897. The country is traversed by the railway from Ramatlabama, South Africa, to Bakaranga, Zimbabwe, en route from Mafikeng to Bulawayo and from southern Africa to Zambia, Congo, Angola, Mozambique, Tanzania and Malawi. BR's principal business is movement of bulk transit ...
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News
TransNamib and Botswana Railways sign container terminal MoU
NAMIBIA: National railway TransNamib and its Botswana counterpart Botswana Railways have signed a memorandum of understanding for the development of a container terminal at Gobabis. Located around 110 km west of Namibia’s border with Botswana, Gobabis is the terminus of a 1 067 mm gauge line from the port of ...
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News
Three countries agree 1 500 km corridor plan
AFRICA: The governments of Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe have agreed to develop a 1 500 km mixed-traffic rail corridor to serve an expanded port at Techobanine, 70 km south of Maputo.Starting at Francistown in northern Botswana, the route would cross northwards into Zimbabwe, serving Bulawayo, before running ...
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News
Botswana Railways coaches delivered
BOTSWANA: The first 22 of 37 coaches which Botswana Railways ordered from South Africa’s Transnet Engineering were delivered to Gaborone by rail in late March, and the rest are scheduled to arrive by May. The coaches are being produced at Transnet’s Koedoespoort and Salt River plants, with Transnet outsourcing ‘a ...
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News
Coal wagon delivery
BOTSWANA: South Africa’s Transnet Engineering is delivering 30 coal wagons, 260 salt wagons and 272 general purpose wagons to Botswana Railways. The national operator is upgrading its fleet and has also called tenders for the supply of eight diesel locomotives. The coal wagons have entered traffic on ...
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News
Passenger services in Botswana to end
BOTSWANA: Botswana Railways' passenger service is to be suspended with effect from April 1, the Ministry of Works & Transport announced on February 25. The overnight train between Francistown and Lobatse accounts for less than 10% of BR's operating revenues, and loses P30m a year which has until now been ...
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Botswana signs resignalling deal
CONTRACTS were signed in Gabarone on August 3 for resignalling of the Botswana Railways network.Ansaldo Signal subsidiary Union Switch & Signal has been selected to provide computer-based Direct Traffic Control to replace the now-obsolete British Radio Electronic Token Block equipment installed in 1989-90. As part of the programme, the number ...