The first railway in Portuguese East Africa (present day Moçambique) was the 2ft (610mm) gauge Beira Railway, opened from Fontesvilla to a point 75 miles (120km) inland in 1894, extended to Beira in 1896 and the Rhodesian frontier in 1897, finally entering Rhodesia (present day Zimbabwe) the following year. The problem of traffic interchange with other lines in Rhodesia led to the Beira line being regauged to 3ft 6in (1067mm) between 1899 and 1900.
The latter gauge was also chosen for subsequent railway development in the country, before and after World War I, by companies seeking to open up the mineral resources of the landlocked countries of central southern Africa. These lines did much to develop the Indian Ocean ports of Mozambique and to some extent open up the interior of the country but, in the absence of major north - south routes, little to unite its disparate parts. In consequence, the network today consists of a number of unconnected sections. The various state owned railways were leased or concessed to private companies between 2005 and 2008, while remaining under state regulation.
In 2010 an agreement was signed for the construction of a completely new 1100km railway from a new port in the Matutuine district via Zimbabwe to Serule in Botswana.
In 2011 an agreement was signed for the construction of a new railway from the Moatize area to Malawi where it would link to the existing railway serving the port of Nacala, giving an alternative export route for ore from the Moatize area.
© 2006-2011 Glyn Williams
Flag image from CIA World Factbook
