Eswatini Railways (ESR), formerly known as Swaziland Railway or Swazi Rail, is the national railway corporation of

Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

Overview

As in the rest of Southern Africa, the rail system of Eswatini is built to the narrow

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 ...

of . ESR provides only service for transportation of goods, not passengers. ESR's rail system is used to connect the land-locked country to the sea. The east-west link, called the Goba line, leads from Matsapha (near Manzini) through

Sidvokodvo Sidvokodvo is a town in central Eswatini, situated south of Manzini Manzini may refer to: *Manzini, Eswatini, a town in the Manzini Region of Eswatini *Manzini Region, a region of Eswatini *Manzini (surname), an Italian surname See also *Roman C ...

, Phuzumoya and Mpaka to Goba in Mozambique. From Goba a Mozambique Ports and Railways line connects to the ports of

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 1998 ...

and Maputo. Swazi Rail also has two connections to South Africa: a northern link from Mpaka to Komatipoort in

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

on the Pretoria–Maputo railway, and a southern link from Phuzumoya to

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 ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

, from where the Transnet network connects to the ports of Richards Bay and Durban.

History

In 1902 the British administration of Eswatini agreed with the Portuguese administration of Mozambique to construct a railway line from Lourenço Marques (now Maputo) to Eswatini. The Mozambican section as far as Goba was opened in 1905, but the line was not continued across the border. In 1927 the Zululand Railway in South Africa reached Golela on the southern border of Eswatini. 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 a new impulse to railway construction in Eswatini. Between 1961 and 1964, the east-west line was constructed from Goba to Matsapha and onwards to

Ngwenya Ngwenya is a town in western Eswatini, lying near the border with South Africa, north west of Mbabane, on the MR3 road. The South African town opposite Ngwenya is Oshoek in Mpumalanga province. It is known for its glass factory and artwork ...

. Mining at Ngwenya ceased by 1980, and the railway beyond Matsapha was abandoned. The Mozambican War of Independence and the subsequent Mozambican Civil War caused disruption to Swazi trade through the Mozambican ports, and in 1977 the South African Railways agreed to the construction of a link from the railhead at Golela to the existing line at Phuzumoya. This line, opened in 1978, gave Eswatini rail access to Durban and Richards Bay. In 1986 the northern link from Komatipoort to Mpaka was opened, providing a shorter route for traffic from Phalaborwa and the

Lowveld Veld ( or ), also spelled veldt, is a type of wide open rural landscape in :Southern Africa. Particularly, it is a flat area covered in grass or low scrub, especially in the countries of South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswa ...

to Richards Bay.

Managed infrastructure

The company manages three main railway lines, the Goba railway, the Komatipoort railway and the Richards Bay railway.

Goba railway line

It is the main railway trunk in Eswatini. It serves as a link between the city of Matsapha and the city 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 ...

, allowing connection with 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 ...

, in Mozambique.

Komatipoort railway line

It serves as a connection between the cities of Komatipoort, in South Africa, and Mpaka, in Eswatini.

Richards Bay railway line

It serves as a connection between the cities of Richards Bay, in South Africa, and Siphofaneni/ Phuzumoya, in Eswatini.

Interconnection projects

Swazilink

In January 2012, the

Swazilink Swazilink is a planned railway in South Africa and Eswatini. Route The main railway would run 146 km from Lothair in Mpumalanga in South Africa to Sidvokodvo Junction in Eswatini. This would reduce the pressure on the Richards Bay line, re ...

project was announced, which would connect

to Lothair in

in South Africa. This would divert freight traffic from the Richards Bay line and the Goba line. In June 2014, SR estimated that the link would cost R17 billion and could enter service in 2017.

References

CIA Factbook

External links

Eswatini Railways Official Site
{{Africa in topic, Rail transport in Railway companies of Eswatini