Sena railway
| Sena railway | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Overview | |
| Status | Operational |
| Termini | |
| Service | |
| Type | Cape gauge |
| Operator(s) | CFM, CEAR and ZR |
| History | |
| Opened | 1904 |
| Technical | |
| Line length | c. 1,000 km (620 mi) |
| Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) |
Sena railway,[1] also called Shire Highlands railway, Dondo-Malawi railway and North-South Malawi railway, is a railway that connects Dondo, Mozambique, to Chipata, in Zambia. It is c. 1000 km long, in a 1067 mm gauge.[2]
On the Mozambican stretch, between Dondo and Vila Nova de Fronteira, the managing company is Mozambique Ports and Railways (CFM);[1] on the Malawian stretch, between the cities of Marka and Mchinji, the administration is done by the company Central East African Railways (CEAR).[3] In the short stretch in the territory of Zambia, between the cities of Koloni and Chipata, the railway is controlled by the company Zambia Railways (ZR).[4]
Its main maritime logistics facilities are at the port of Beira and port of Nacala.[1]
History
Initially the Sena railway had the function of connecting the Protectorate of Nyasaland (currently Malawi) from north to south, using waterways to reach seaports. Thus, in 1901, the Shire Highlands Railway Company was formed in Blantyre by British investors. He soon obtained a concession to build a railway connecting Nsanje, on the Shire River (at the southernmost point of the protectorate), to Mangochi, at the southern end of Lake Malawi, via Chiromo and Blantyre. The first section of this line, between Nsanje and Chiromo, was opened to traffic on 1 September 1904. The contract for the construction of a branch was awarded to the British South Africa Company, connecting Chindio and Nsanje, the latter becoming a important waterway connection port with the maritime city of Beira. The irregular river flow in the region — sometimes with large and destructive floods, sometimes with severe droughts — made safe navigation almost impossible, causing this option to be discarded and the continuation of a railway line to Quelimane to be abandoned.[5]
The effective planning of what is currently the Sena railway would only begin in 1912, when a common understanding was signed between Nyasaland and the Portuguese administration in Mozambique, for the construction of a railway line that would connect Beira to the African Great Lakes.[6]
Between 1919 and 1922, Trans-Zambezia Railways, company winner of the tender for the construction of the southern section, concluded the connection between Dondo and Vila de Sena, in front of the city of Nhamayabué (or Mutarara), on the Zambezi River. The rest of the railway on the Mozambican side, between Nhamayabué and Vila Nova de Fronteira, was slowly completed until 1930. In 1930, therefore, the railway already connected Beira, Nhamayabué, Vila Nova de Fronteira, Nsanje, Chiromo and Blantyre, mainly transporting cotton from southern Malawi and from the Sena-Nhamayabué region, in addition to the sugar production by the company Sena Sugar Estates.[7] The permission for the construction of the north-lakes stretch, beyond Blantyre, was later transferred to the company Central African Railways.[8]
In order to cross the Zambezi River and continue the railroad operation, a ferry service was chosen, which paralyzed during the river's drought period. To eliminate the movement of the ferry, Nyasaland Railways Limited (resulting from the merger of the Shire Highlands Railway Company with the Central African Railways) and Trans-Zambezia Railways opted for the construction of the Dona Ana Bridge; the final cost of the bridge was £ 1.74 million and, for the rest of the 20th century, did not generate enough traffic to pay the interest rate, let alone repay the loans raised to build it.[9]
The construction of the stretch in the territory of Malawi, between Blantyre and Salima, was completed in 1935, reaching the important port of Chipoka, one of the largest on Lake Malawi;[10] an extension from Salima to the west to Lilongwe and Mchinji was completed in 1979.[11]
The subsequent discovery of mining areas in northeastern Zambia caused the railway to be extended from Mchinji (Malawi) to the locality of Chipata (Zambia).[12][13][14] The works for this extension were completed in 2019, with Chinese funding.[15]
Effects of civil war
The Sena railway was the main bulk transport link to Malawi until 1979, when it was destroyed by RENAMO forces in the Mozambican Civil War. As the Sena railway was interconnected with the Nacala railway, at the station in the Malawian city of Nkaya, since 1970, Malawi had its second rail connection with the port of Nacala, in Mozambique. In 1984, the Nacala railway link was also lost, when the Nacala railway was destroyed by RENAMO forces.[16]
Railway branches
In 1949, the Dona Ana-Moatize branch line, 254 km long, was definitively opened, connecting the very rich areas of the Benga-Moatize coal belt.[1]
It also has the Inhamitanga-Marromeu branch, which is 88 km long.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Linha de Sena" (HTML). CFM. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- ^ Mozambique Logistics Infrastructure: Mozambique Railway Assessment. Atlassian Confluence. 10 de dezembro de 2018.
- ^ About. CEAR. 2019.
- ^ Railway network. Zambia Railways. 2018.
- ^ One of Africa’s longest bridges, 86-year-old Ponte Dona Ana gets a much-needed facelift. Club of Mozambique. 26 de maio de 2017.
- ^ White, Landeg. [https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-1-349-12365-0#about Bridging the Zambesi: A Colonial Folly. Londres: Palgrave Macmillan, 1993.
- ^ Gallo, F.B.G.. Andando à procura dessa vida : dinâmicas de deslocamento na província de Tete-Moçambique, do colonialismo tardio à mineradora Vale. Campinas: UNICAMP. 2017. pg. 271-272.
- ^ Hammond, F. D.; Newcombe, E. O. A.; Carter, E. P. Report on the Nyasaland Railways and Proposed Zambesi Bridge, 1927. London: H.M. Stationery Office. 1929.
- ^ Dona Ana Steel Bridge (between Sena and Mutarara). HPIP. 2019.
- ^ Dell'Acqua, Gianluca.; Wegman, Fred.. Transport Infrastructure and Systems: Proceedings of the AIIT International Congress on Transport Infrastructure and Systems Roma: CRC Press. 10-12 de abril de 2017.
- ^ Nkana, Robert. Malawi Railways: an Historical Review. The Society of Malawi Journal Vol. 52, No. 1 (1999), pp. 39-45
- ^ Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia to rebuild railroad to Nacala and Beira. MacauHub. 11 de agosto de 2006.
- ^ Railway service suspended in eastern Zambia due to heavy rains. Xinhua Africa. 28 de dezembro de 2018.
- ^ Project for the Study on Development of the Sena Corridor Final Report/ Chapter 3 Present Situation of Transport System in the Study Area. Jicareport. 2003.
- ^ Chipata-Mchinji line complete on Zambian side. Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation. 9 de janeiro de 2019.
- ^ Phiri, Patson. Rehabilitation work starts on Nacala railway line. Southern African News Features 06 No 44, Southern African Research and Documentation Centre. Maio de 2006.