The Maseru branch line is a railway line that connects Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, to the railway network of South Africa.

Overview

It branches from the

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape Tow ...

–

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital of ...

line at Marseilles, Free State, and runs in a south-easterly direction for to the

Caledon River The Caledon River ( st, Mohokare) is a major river located in central South Africa. Its total length is , rising in the Drakensberg Mountains on the Lesotho border, flowing southwestward and then westward before joining the Orange River near Beth ...

. After crossing the river, which serves as the border with Lesotho, the line runs for through an industrial area of Maseru, serving the city's station and various factories and depots. The line is owned by Transnet Freight Rail of South Africa; it has freight service but no regular passenger trains. Construction on the Bloemfontein–Bethlehem railway line, intended to link the

Orange River Colony The Orange River Colony was the British colony created after Britain first occupied (1900) and then annexed (1902) the independent Orange Free State in the Second Boer War. The colony ceased to exist in 1910, when it was absorbed into the Union ...

(as it was then known) with the port of Durban, began in 1902 under the direction of the Central South African Railways. By June 1904 it was open from Bloemfontein as far as

Modderpoort Modderpoort, also known as ''Lekhalong la Bo Tau'' or ‘The Pass of the Lions’, is the site in the eastern Free State, South Africa, where the Anglican Missionary Brotherhood, the Brotherhood of St Augustine of Hippo, was established by Bishop ...

. In order to make the line viable, it was desired that it should serve Maseru, but for the sake of economy it was decided to build the main line along a shorter route and connect Maseru by a branch line. The line from Marseilles to Maseru, including a new bridge over the Caledon River, was opened on 18 December 1905.

References

* {{cite book , first=J.N.C , last=Boonzaaier , title=Tracks Across the Veld , year=2008 , isbn=978-0-620-41711-2 , page=245 Railway lines in South Africa Rail transport in Lesotho 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in South Africa

Overview

See also

References