Mozambique Logistics Industry: Railway linking Country Beira Port to Zimbabwe to be rebuilt soon

The Machipanda Railroad, which links the Mozambican port of Beira to Machipanda station, may undergo reconstruction along its entire 317-kilometre length this year, said the director of the Sena Railroad reconstruction Brigade.

Noting that a consultant was being chosen to carry out feasibility studies, Elias Xai-Xai also said that the work involved state port and rail company Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (CFM) and the Mozambique Regional Gateway Programme, a Mozambique-based programme linked to increasing international traffic in Southern Africa.

The Machipanda Railroad, which was originally built in 1906, is being brought back from the state of abandonment it was assigned to during the concession period of former Beira railway company Companhia Caminhos de Ferro da Beira. CFM has so far spent US$10 million on the line to stabilise the line, and to re-open crossings and stations.

The thus far chronic derailment problem on the line has been substantially reduced, particularly because of reducing sharp bends in the line, replacing rails and sleepers and increasing crossing lines, all of which ahs allowed trains to travel faster.

The Machipanda Railroad, which is located near the border with Zimbabwe, is the only freight line to and from Zimbabwe and Zambia.