Goba railway, also called Swaziland-Maputo railway and Matsapha-Maputo railway, is a railway that connects the city of

Maputo Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,0 ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, to the city from

Matsapha Matsapha is a town in central Eswatini. The Matsapha urban boundary is defined in the Urban Government Act of 1969, as amended in 2012, and covers an area of approximately . Matsapha was established as an industrial park in 1965 and was officially g ...

, in Eswatini. It is 466.8 km long, in a 1067 mm gauge.Mozambique Logistics Infrastructure: Mozambique Railway Assessment
Atlassian Confluence. 10 de dezembro de 2018. On the Mozambican stretch, between

and

Goba Goba ( Oromo: ', Amharic: ጎባ) is a town and separate woreda located in the Bale Zone of the Oromia Region, Ethiopia approximately 446 km southeast of Addis Ababa, this city has a latitude and longitude of and an elevation of 2,743 meters ...

, the managing company is

Mozambique Ports and Railways Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (abbreviated CFM; in English Mozambique Ports and Railways) is a state-owned company that oversees the railway system of Mozambique and its connected ports. The rail system is composed of a total of 2,9 ...

(CFM); on the Eswatinean (swazi) stretch, between the cities of

Mlawula View from Magadzevane Camp on the Lubombo mountains Blue wildebeest and impala in ''Acacia nigrescens">impala.html" ;"title="Blue wildebeest and impala">Blue wildebeest and impala in ''Acacia nigrescens'' savanna The Mlawula Nature Reserve is ...

and

, the administration is done by the company

Eswatini Railways Eswatini Railways (ESR), formerly known as Swaziland Railway or Swazi Rail, is the national railway corporation of Eswatini. Overview As in the rest of Southern Africa, the rail system of Eswatini is built to the narrow Cape gauge of . ESR pr ...

(ESR). Its main maritime logistics facility is the

port of Maputo The Port of Maputo, also called the Maputo-Matola port complex, is a Mozambican port located in the cities of Maputo and Matola. They are installed in Maputo Bay, on the north bank of the Espírito Santo estuary, which is separated from the Mozamb ...

History

In 1902, the British administration of Eswatini signed a term of commitment with the Portuguese administration of Mozambique for the construction of a railway line that would depart from the port of Maputo, reaching Mbabane. The works started in 1903, but the Mozambican stretch until

was only opened in 1912. After reaching the border, the railroad did not go into the interior of the Eswatini, with the works paralyzing.Newitt, M. D. D.. A History of Mozambique. Indiana University Press, 1995. pg. 493. In 1927, the Zululand railway (current Richards Bay railway), in the South African Union, reached

Golela Golela is a border town in Kwa-Zulu Natal Province, South Africa, 45 km east of Pongola on the border with Eswatini. The Golela border post was recently rebuilt to meet the increasing movement of people and goods between South Africa and Es ...

, on the southern border of Eswatini, but still did not reach the Swazi interior lands. The development of the

Ngwenya Mine The Ngwenya Mine is located on Bomvu Ridge, northwest of Mbabane and near the northwestern border of Eswatini (Swaziland). This mine is considered to be the world's oldest. The haematite ore deposit was used in the Middle Stone Age to extract ...

in the 1960s gave new impetus to the construction of railways at Eswatini. Between 1961 and 1964, the east-west line was built from Goba to

and then to Ngwenya. Mining in Ngwenya ceased in 1980 and the railway section between this city and Matsapha was abandoned.Railways in Eswatini
Sin Fin. 2019. The

Mozambican War of Independence The Mozambican War of Independence ( pt, Guerra da Independência de Moçambique, 'War of Independence of Mozambique') was an armed conflict between the guerrilla forces of the Mozambique Liberation Front or FRELIMO () and Portugal. The w ...

and the subsequent

Mozambican Civil War The Mozambican Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Moçambicana) was a civil war fought in Mozambique from 1977 to 1992. Like many regional African conflicts during the late twentieth century, the Mozambican Civil War possessed local dynamics but was a ...

caused disruptions in Eswatini's port trade through Mozambique, and in 1977, the South African Railways Company agreed to build a link between the Golela train station and the stretch existing in

Siphofaneni Siphofaneni is a town in the Lubombo Region of central Eswatini (Swaziland), 45 kilometres from Manzini and 20 kilometres from Big Bend, a major sugarcane-producing town on the main highway leading to Durban. It has a tropical climate, very hot d ...

Phuzumoya Phuzumoya is a small town situated in the rural village of kaMkhweli under the chieftaincy of Mtfuso II in eastern Eswatini on the MR8 road, located close to the confluence of the Umtimphofu River and Lusutfu Rivers, some ten kilometres east of ...

and

Mpaka Mpaka is a town in eastern central Eswatini in western Lubombo District. It lies about northwest of Siteki on the MR3 highway. Transports Mpaka has one of the main railway stations in the country, serving as a connection between the Goba railwa ...

. This line, opened in 1978, gave Eswatini rail access to

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

and

Richards Bay Richards Bay ( af, Richardsbaai) is a town in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is situated on a 30 square kilometre lagoon of the Mhlatuze River, which makes it one of the country's largest harbours. Richards Bay also has the deepest natural h ...

. In 1986, the northern link was opened, connecting

Komatipoort Komatipoort is a town situated at the confluence of the Crocodile and Komati Rivers in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The town is 8 km from the Crocodile Bridge Gate into the Kruger Park, and just 5 km from the Mozambique border ...

to Mpaka, providing a shorter and alternative route for freight and passenger traffic from Eswatini and East South Africa to the port of Richards Bay, breaking much of the traffic and cargo transported by the

Railway branches

The Goba railway has two important branches: * Salamanga branch: connects the village of Boane to the village of

Salamanga Salamanga is a town in southern Mozambique. Transport The town is served by a terminus of a branchline of the Goba railway of the national railway network. The main traffic is limestone used in the manufacture of cement. In 2008, $8m was to ...

.Ramal de caminho-de-ferro Matola/Salamanga, em Moçambique, vai ser reparado
MacauHub. 18 de setembro de 2011. * Railway maneuvering branch of Mpaka: in the city of Mpaka.

Railway connections

In Mpaka, the Goba line connects with the

Komatipoort railway Komatipoort is a town situated at the confluence of the Crocodile and Komati Rivers in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The town is 8 km from the Crocodile Bridge Gate into the Kruger Park, and just 5 km from the Mozambique border ...

. In

, the Goba line connects with the

Richards Bay railway Richards may refer to: *Richards (surname) In places: * Richards, New South Wales, Australia * Richards, Missouri, United States * Richards, Texas Richards is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in eastern Grimes Coun ...

. In

, the Goba line connects with the Pretoria-Maputo railway and the

Limpopo railway Limpopo Railway, also called Gweru-Maputo railway, is a railway that connects the city of Maputo, Mozambique, to the city from Somabhula, in Zimbabwe. It is 900 km long, in a 1067 mm gauge.

Main railway stations

The main railway stations of the Goba railway are: *

Matola Matola is the largest suburb of the Mozambique capital, Maputo, adjacent to its westernmost side. It is the nation's second most populated city. Matola is the capital of Maputo Province and has had its own elected municipal government since 199 ...

* Boane *

References

{{reflist 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Mozambique Railway lines in Mozambique Rail transport in Eswatini