Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (CFM) will resume passenger rail transport on the Machipanda line, which links the Mozambican city of Beira and Zimbabwe on Monday (December 11) , the company announced yesterday.
CFM said in a statement that the train would run on Mondays and Saturdays from Beira to Machipanda, and on Tuesdays and Sundays in the opposite direction.
“The 317-kilometre Machipanda line, from Beira to the border extension of Machipanda, is of strategic importance for the Beira Corridor, especially for neighbouring Zimbabwe, whose exports and imports are ensured by Mozambican ports and corridors. It is also an important way of encouraging social life,” the note states.
In addition to the long-distance train that will start running again next Monday, a car will also be running – as from this Tuesday (December 5) – between the cities of Beira, in Sofala province, and Chimoio, in Manica province, twice a week, the statement said.
The CFM company also announced in the same statement the introduction of a third track on the Sena line, between Beira and the district of Moatize was “a useful measure for the movement of people and goods”.
The Machipanda railway line underwent rehabilitation and modernisation and was reopened on 23 November by the presidents of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi, and Zimbabwe, Emerson Mnangagwa. Nyusi said on the occasion that the Machipanda railway line is “safer and more comfortable” as a result of the rehabilitation and modernisation of the infrastructure.
“The Machipanda railway line is now open to passenger transport, 26 years later, and in a safer and more comfortable way, following the rehabilitation and modernisation of the track,” said Nyusi on his Facebook page.
The President said that the upgrading of the strategic line considerably increases the volume of cargo transported and reduces the transit time of trains and the cost of travelling.
“Freight trains used to travel with a lot of problems because the track had many tight curves, leading to accidents or loss of speed,” he noted.
