The Mosetse–Kazungula–Livingstone Railway is a prospected

cape gauge A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

international

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

connecting the Botswana railway network at

Mosetse Mosetse is a village in Central District of Botswana. It is located along the road from Francistown to Nata. The population was 1,661 in 2001 census. Mosetse lies along the Mosetse River, which ultimately discharges to the Sua Pan, a part of th ...

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

with the Zambian railway network at

Livingstone Livingstone may refer to: * Livingstone (name), a Scottish surname and a given name. **David Livingstone (1813–1873), Scottish physician, missionary and explorer, after whom many other Livingstones are named Places *Livingstone Falls, on the Con ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

over the new Kazungula Bridge on the

Zambezi The Zambezi River (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 hal ...

River.Botswana Presentation at Africa Australia Infrastructure Conference
/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 (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

and Zambia to the port of

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 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, being an alternative to the existing route through

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

. 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 subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

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 and 147,122 inhabitants for its agglomeration at the 2022 census. and often described as the "''Capital of the North''" or as the natives would have it “''T ...

– Sua Pan railway line at the village of

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 supposedly 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 classified ...

from Mosetse to

Nata, Botswana Nata is a village in Central District of Botswana. It is located in the northern part of the district, and is served by Nata Airport. The population was 6,802 at the 2011 census. The village of Nata lies along the Nata River, which carries it ...

and then along the A33 highway between Nata and Kazungula on the south bank of the Zambezi river, a distance of 367 km. 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.

References

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