National Railways of Zimbabwe
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The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) is the parastatal railway of Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe railway system was largely constructed during the time of British colonial rule, and part of it represents a segment of the Cape-Cairo railway. Prior to 1980 it was called Rhodesian Railways (RR).
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[edit] Operations
NRZ operates about 3,000 km of rail at the 1.067m gauge providing passenger and freight services. NRZ has an important transit function in the southern part of Africa and is well linked with neighboring countries: toward the north, at Victoria Falls the system links to the Zambia Railways, crossing the Victoria Falls Bridge. Toward the Indian ocean the system links to the Beira Railroad Corporation in Mozambique. A second line toward Mozambique reaches Maputo. To the west, a connecting line link ups to Botswana Railways to reach South Africa, eventually reaching Durban and Cape Town. A direct line to South Africa is provided from Bulawayo by the Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway.
The 313 km Gweru-Harare section is electrified at 25kV AC.
A railway museum exists in Bulawayo.
[edit] Major Lines and Stations
- Victoria Falls - Bulawayo
- Bulawayo – Harare
- Bulawayo – Francistown
- Marula, Zimbabwe
- Plumtree, Zimbabwe, border to Botswana
- Francistown, Botswana, connects further to Mafeking, South Africa
In 1911 Rhodesian Railways was granted a special agreement to preserve its rights of access under the Tati Concessions Land Act, which formally annexed a former territory of Matabeleland, an area including Francistown, to the Bechuanaland Protectorate (modern Botswana). See: Tati Concessions Land Act.
[edit] BBR
The privately-owned Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway provides a direct rail link to South Africa. This railway was opened in 1999 and will become part of the NRZ after 30 years.
[edit] Accidents
- On August 27, 2006 more than 60 people are killed in a head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train 30 km south of Victoria Falls. [1]
- In the Ngungumbane rail crash on June 3, 2006 five fatalities occur.
- On February 1, 2003 forty people die in the Dete train crash.
[edit] Well known Railway employees (Past and Present)
Former Vice President Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo worked there as a social worker in 1948.
[edit] References
- ^ "Victoria Falls train crash claims five lives", ZimObserverNews, 2006-08-28. Retrieved on 2006-09-18. (English)
[edit] External links
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