Work to boost the capacity of the Sena Railroad in Mozambique from 6.5 million tons to 20 million tons of cargo per year are in the final stages, said the director of the Sena Line Reconstruction (BR CL) Brigade, Elias Xai-Xai.

The contract, costing approximately 163 million euros, has been carried out since June 2013 and should be completed in the first quarter of 2015 and cover the full extent of the line, or 575 kilometres between the coal town of Moatize, in Tete province and the port of Beira, in Sofala province.

Xai-Xai told daily newspaper Notícias that at the Sena stations of Magagade, Caia, Inhamitanga and Mazamba in Sofala, work had been completed to expanding lines from 750 to 1,500 metres long, including laying track at the remaining 20 of a total 31 station along the railway line.

Ongoing work includes laying ballast, rebuilding over 300 bridges, culverts and aqueducts, especially in the Lower Zambezi area, notably restoration of the Dona Ana bridge that connects the banks of the Zambezi between Sena in Caia, and Mutarara, a over approximately 5 kilometres.

Founded in 1914 by the then British company Trans-Zambezi Railways (TZR), which includes the extension Inhamitanga / Marromeu, which is 82 kilometres long, the Sena experiences heavy traffic of an average of 21 trains per day, of which 17 are loaded with coal and passenger trains are scheduled on a weekly basis. (macauhub/MZ)