Presidente moçambicano, Filipe Nyusi (a direita) e seu homólogo do Zimbabwe Emmerson Mnangagwa (no segundo plano a esquerda), na inauguração do comboio de passageiros que liga a cidade da Beira e posto administrativo de Machipanda, que faz fronteira com o Zimbabwe
Machipanda (Moçambique), 24 Nov (AIM) – Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi announced on Thursday that passenger trains between the central port city of Beira and Zimbabwe will resume.
He was speaking at Machipanda, on the Mozambique/Zimbabwe border, where he and his Zimbabwean counterpart, Emmerson Mnangagwa, re-inaugurated the railway, which has now been completely rehabilitated.
The last time passenger trains ran between Beira and Zimbabwe was in 1997. The circulation of these trains was suspended due to the poor state of the track. Rehabilitation of the line began in August 2020, and included eliminating ten of the 14 tight curves along the 317 kilometres of track.
The work should have concluded in November 2021, but was delayed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The rehabilitation was budgeted at 200 million US dollars
The first passenger train in this new era for the line ran from Manica Town to the Machipanda border, a stretch of 22 kilometres, and Nyusi and Mnangagwa were the first passengers, accompanied by members of their governments, journalists and support staff.
The journey took about an hour, with the train travelling at speeds of between 40 and 80 kilometres an hour.
The rehabilitation included replacing the tracks and the sleepers, along the main line and the branch lines, laying fresh ballast, and rebuilding the stations.
It is hoped that goods traffic along the line will increase from the current 600,000 tonnes a year to 3.5 million tonnes a year. The maximum cargo that wagons can carry has increased from 18 to 20 tonnes per axle.
“The line is ready to receive and handle a variety of cargo”, Nyusi said. “One of the immediate results of the rehabilitation is the resumption of passenger trains, which will promote tourism”.
He promised that fares on the passenger trains will be accessible, and will allow people to travel safely and cheaply.
The Machipanda line will thus be an alternative to road transport, and Nyusi urged the police and immigration service not to complicate the lives of the passengers.
The line, Nyusi added, will contribute to the economic growth of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and other southern African countries. “The rehabilitation puts Mozambique at a strategic advantage in handling products for the countries of the interior”, he stressed.
For his part, Mnangagwa claimed that the re-inauguration of the line is another stage in the solidarity between Mozambique and Zimbabwe, and seals their long-lasting relations of brotherhood.
He said that Zimbabwe is currently recovering “thanks to our good neighbourly relations with Mozambique”.
(AIM)
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