The Mosetse–Kazungula–Livingstone Railway is a prospected

cape gauge A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

international

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

connecting the Botswana railway network at Mosetse,

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

with the Zambian railway network at Livingstone,

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

over the new

Kazungula Bridge Kazungula Bridge is a road and rail bridge over the Zambezi, Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Botswana at the town of Kazungula. The and bridge, which has a longest span of , links the town of Kazungula in Zambia with Botswana ...

on the

Zambezi The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than half of t ...

River.Botswana, Zambia to construct railway across Zambezi at Kazungula
/ref> The railway line will offer a direct railway transport route of goods and people between the two countries, as well between

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

and Zambia to the port of

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, being an alternative to the existing route through

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

. The completion of the combined railway and road bridge over the Zambezi and the new railway link is supposed to allow for swifter transport of goods and people in the

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

n region.

Route

the new line will branch off the existing

Francistown Francistown is the second-largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 103,417 inhabitants and 147,122 inhabitants in its agglomeration at the 2022 census. It is located in eastern Botswana, about north-northeast from the capital, Gabo ...

–

Sua Pan The Sua Pan or Sowa Pan is a large natural topographic depression within the Makgadikgadi region of Botswana. It is located near the village of '' Sowa'', whose name means salt in the language of the San. The Sua salt pan is one of three large ...

railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

at the village of Mosetse in the Central District, some 115 km northwest of Francistown. It is not known if the existing line to Francistown needs upgrading to allow for the proposed increase in railway transports. It is prospected that the railway will follow a merely straight northern direction along the

A3 road The A3, known as the Portsmouth Road or London Road in sections, is a major road connecting the City of London and Portsmouth passing close to Kingston upon Thames, Guildford, Haslemere and Petersfield. For much of its length, it is classifie ...

from Mosetse to

Nata, Botswana Nata is a village in the Central District of Botswana. Located in the north of the district about 200km (124 miles) from the city of Francistown, the village is served by Nata Airport. The population was 7,713 at the 2022 census with a growth ...

and then along the A33 highway between Nata and Kazungula on the south bank of the

Zambezi river The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than half of t ...

, a distance of 367 km. This stretch will also involve 22 bridges & 17 level crossings. It will then pass the 923 metre long Kazungula Bridge directly from Botswana to Zambia. On the Zambian side of the Zambezi river, a 60 km railway line in eastern direction along the M10 road to Livingstone is required to connect to the

Cape to Cairo Railway The Cape to Cairo Railway is an unfinished project to create a railway line crossing from southern to northern Africa. It would have been the largest, and most important, railway of the continent. It was planned as a link between Cape Town i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mosetse-Kazungula-Livingstone Railway Rail transport in Zambia Rail transport in Botswana