Beira-Bulawayo railway, also called Machipanda railway, Beira-Harare-Bulawayo railway and Beira railway, is a railway that connects the city of Beira,

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

, to the city of

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...

, in

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 ...

. It is 850 km long, in a 1067 mm gauge.Mozambique Logistics Infrastructure: Mozambique Railway Assessment
. Atlassian Confluence. 10 de dezembro de 2018. On the Mozambican stretch, between Beira and

Machipanda Machipanda is a town in Manica District, in the middle of Manica Province, Mozambique, near the border with Zimbabwe. Transport The city has one of the most important railway stations on the Beira–Bulawayo railway (or Machipanda railway), t ...

, the managing company is

Mozambique Ports and Railways Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (abbreviated CFM; in English Mozambique Ports and Railways) is a state-owned company that oversees the railway system of Mozambique and its connected ports. The rail system is composed of a total of 2,9 ...

(CFM); on the Zimbabwean stretch, between the cities of

Mutare Mutare, formerly known as Umtali until 1982, is the capital and largest city in the province of Manicaland. It is the third most populated in Zimbabwe. Having surpassed Gweru in the 2012 census, with an urban area, urban population of 224,802 ...

Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...

Gweru Gweru, originally known as Gwelo, is a city in central Zimbabwe. It is on the centre of Midlands Province. Originally an area known to the Ndebele as "The Steep Place" because of the Gweru River's high banks, in 1894 it became the site of a m ...

and

, the administration is done by the company

National Railways of Zimbabwe The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), formerly Rhodesia Railways (RR), is a Bulawayo headquartered state-owned enterprise that operates the country's national railway system. It was established in 1893 and is governed by an Act of Parliament ...

(NRZ). Its main maritime logistics facility is the

port of Beira The Port of Beira is a Mozambican port located in the city of Beira, capital of the Sofala Province. It is located in Sofala Bay, which forms a huge complex with the mouth of the Pungoe River, known as the Beira estuary, facing the Mozambique C ...

History

Originally, the Beira–Bulawayo railway was to establish a rail connection between

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

and Beira, according to the understanding celebrated in the 1870s between

Portuguese East Africa Portuguese Mozambique () or Portuguese East Africa () were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese Empire, Portuguese overseas province. Portuguese Mozambique originally constituted a str ...

and the

Company rule in Rhodesia The British South Africa Company's administration of what became Rhodesia was chartered in 1889 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, and began with the Pioneer Column's march north-east to Mashonaland in 1890. Empowered by its charter to ...

.Rhodesia Railways: Engines of History
. Memories of Rhodesia. 2019. However, due to financial difficulties with the Portuguese partners, the construction of the first stretch of the Beira–Bulawayo railway started only in 1892; the infrastructure, in narrow gauge of 610 mm, connected, already on 4 February 1898, Beira to the border city

Umtali Mutare, formerly known as Umtali until 1982, is the capital and largest city in the province of Manicaland. It is the third most populated in Zimbabwe. Having surpassed Gweru in the 2012 census, with an urban population of 224,802 and approx ...

, in

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

(later

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

; now

), covering 357 kilometres. In 1898, a 1,067 mm gauge line was opened from Salisbury to Umtali, with subsequent conversion of the 610 mm narrow gauge section connecting to Beira in 1900. Still in the 1890s, work began on extending the original project, starting from

, in

(later

; now

), to build a 1,067 mm railway to the north, up to Salisbury, which was definitively completed in 1899. After the conversion of Umtali (1067 mm) and

(610 mm), the line finally connected Bulawayo, Gwelo (now

), Salisbury (now

), Umtali (now

), Manica,

Chimoio Chimoio is the capital of Manica Province in Mozambique. It is the fifth-largest city in Mozambique. Chimoio's name under Portuguese administration was ''Vila Pery''. Vila Pery developed under Portuguese rule as an important agricultural and t ...

(known as Vila Pery under Portuguese rule), Dondo and Beira. **Maryland-Kildonan branch: a sub-branch of the Harare-Chinhoyi branch, which leaves from the village of Maryland and goes to the village of Kildonan. **Bindura branch: a sub-branch of the Harare-Chinhoyi branch, which leaves from the city of Harare and goes to the village of Shamva. *

Masvingo Masvingo, known as Fort Victoria during the colonial period, is a city in southeastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The city lies close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name and clos ...

branch: connects the city of

to the city of

. **

Shurugwi Shurugwi, originally known as Selukwe, is a small town and administrative centre in Midlands Province, southern Zimbabwe, located about south of Harare, with a population of 22,900 according to the 2022 census. The town was established in 189 ...

branch: a sub-branch of the Gweru-Masvingo branch, which leaves from the city of Gweru and goes to the village of

. * Incisa branch: in the city of Incisa. * Redcliff branch: in the town of Redcliff.

Railway connections

In Dondo, the Beira–Bulawayo line connects with the

Sena railway Sena railway, also called Shire Highlands railway, Dondo-Malawi railway and North-South Malawi railway, is a railway that connects Dondo, Mozambique, Dondo, Mozambique, to Chipata, in Zambia. It is 1000 km long, in a 3 ft 6 in gauge railways, 1 ...

. In

SomabhulaSomabhula is a village and List of wards of Zimbabwe, ward (commune) in Midlands province in Zimbabwe. It is also the rail junction for Zimbabwe's southern links to neighboring Mozambique and South Africa. It was a major beef and mixed farming area ...

, the Beira–Bulawayo line connects with the

Limpopo railway Limpopo Railway, also called Gweru-Maputo railway, is a railway that connects the city of Maputo, Mozambique, to the city from Somabhula, in Zimbabwe. It is 900 km long, in a 1067 mm gauge.

. In Umzingwane, the Beira–Bulawayo line connects with the Beitbridge-Bulawayo railway. In

, the Beira–Bulawayo line connects with 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 ...

.Two empires, two railway projects
United World. 8 november 2021.

Main railway stations

The main railway stations of the Beira–Bulawayo railway are: * Beira * Dondo *

* Manica *

Rusape Rusape is a town in eastern Zimbabwe. Location It is located in Makoni District in Manicaland Province, in northeastern Zimbabwe. It lies approximately , by road, southeast of Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. Rusape is situated on the main roa ...

* Kadoma *

History

Railway connections

Main railway stations

References

Further reading