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Botswana Railways (BR) is the national railway ofBotswana.
Botswana Railways (BR) was established in 1987 when thegovernment of Botswana bought out the Botswana-based sections of theNational Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ).[1] NRZ had been initially operating the rail system after Botswana had gained independence.Management of the BR is supported byRITES Ltd. ofIndia.[citation needed]
The opening of theBeitbridge Bulawayo Railway inZimbabwe 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 toZambia (Zambia Railways), bypassingZimbabwe, to regain income from transit.[citation needed]
On 27 February 2009, an announcement was made of the termination of all Botswana Railways passenger services.[2] However, passenger trains operated by National Railways ofZimbabwe (NRZ) continued to run fromBulawayo toLobatse viaPlumtree,Francistown andGaborone.[3]
As of October 2010, BR was building a largeshopping mall nearGaborone station, and expressed hopes that passenger services might resume, although BR could not give any concrete details.[4]
In December 2014 Botswana Railways announced that it would purchase new passenger cars and locomotives and that passenger services would resume in late 2015.[5] A passenger service betweenGaborone andLobatse, marketed under the name BR Express, eventually began operation in March 2016.[6]
The Botswana Railways system consists of 888 kilometres (552 mi) of1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)Cape gauge track. The main line runs through the south-eastern region of Botswana fromMahikeng in South Africa throughLobatse,Gaborone,Mahalapye,Palapye andFrancistown toPlumtree in Zimbabwe. In addition there are three branch lines: from Palapye toMorupule Colliery, fromSerule toSelebi-Phikwe, and from Francistown toSowa.[citation needed]
As of December 2017[update]
In December 2014 Botswana Railways announced that they would purchase three generator vans, five first classsleepers, 18 economy class coaches, five business class coaches, threebuffet cars and a luggage van.[5]
As of February 2026, all passenger services operated by Botswana Railways have been suspended.[7]
Botswana Railways are connected toZimbabwe andSouth African lines, both using the same gauge.[citation needed]
There is no direct connection withNamibia, but one does exist via South Africa, although an electrified railway connecting toLüderitz inNamibia for coal traffic was scheduled to open in 2006.[citation needed]
In August 2010,Mozambique andBotswana signed amemorandum of understanding to develop an 1100 km railway throughZimbabwe, to carry coal fromSerule in Botswana to a deep-water port at Techobanine Point inMozambique.[8]
A new rail link betweenBotswana andZambia, bypassingZimbabwe, was mooted in 2005 by Botswana Railways (BR) general manager Andrew Lunga. The line was envisaged as running south-westwards fromLivingstone, crossing theZambezi, then continuing to a junction with the existing BR tracks atMosetse. 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.Zimbabwe's economic problems had worsened the situation, prejudicing free traffic flow. The suggested line, Lunga pointed out, would provide important alternative routes linkingSouth Africa,Zambia and theDemocratic Republic of Congo.[9]
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