A railway system existed in
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
from the 1860s until 1964. In 1956 the decision was made to close the railway due to unprofitability. At this time, Mauritius Government Railways had of (
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
) track and 47
locomotive
A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
s. Freight transport continued until 1964 when the railway was scrapped.
From 1964 to 2020, there were no operational long-distance railways in Mauritius. With increasing road
traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic de ...
, plans surfaced in 2009 for a metro system. The first stage opened in 2020.
Map
* UN Map
Light rail system
Initial plans suggested a 24.9 km line which would relieve pressure on busy roads; it would be supported by a feeder network of buses.
The first line would go from the capital at Port Louis to Curepipe, mostly following the trackbed of a former Government railway closed in the 1960s.
On 2 August 2017 it was announced that Larsen & Toubro would be the contractor responsible for constructing the metro network.
The first stage, Port Louis to Rose Hill Central, was opened on 10 January 2020. An extension by two stops to Quatre Bornes was opened on 20 June 2021. The second stage, to Curepipe, and the third stage, to Réduit, are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022.
See also
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Economy of Mauritius
The economy of Mauritius is a mixed developing economy based on agriculture, exports, financial services, and tourism. Since the 1980s, the government of Mauritius has sought to diversify the country's economy beyond its dependence on just agricul ...
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History of rail transport in Mauritius
:''This article is part of the history of rail transport by country series''
The history of rail transport in Mauritius began in the 1860s. The Mauritian rail network was quickly built and it soon provided service to most of the island. It was ...
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Railway stations in Mauritius
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 ...
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Transport in Mauritius
References
Notes
Further reading
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External links
{{Mauritius-stub