Africa and the Middle East

by Michael Frewston

  But unlike Zambia, Zimbabwe has been able to maintain a number of international connections with its 1067-mm gauge neighbours. As well as freight trains, passenger trains do continue to run between Zimbabwe and Botswana, Mozambique and South Africa – just don’t expect too much in terms of either facilities or timekeeping.

  MOZAMBIQUE:

  Although Mozambique was under Portuguese rule until the civil war in 1975, its railways adhered to the standards set by the British in all the neighbouring countries in Southern Africa – including the use of 1067 mm Cape-gauge.

  The first railways in this country were planned in the 1870s, and the first line was opened in 1890. Ultimately, three quite separate lines were completed, but all to Cape-gauge – a situation that still exists. There was also a 762 mm gauge line of some 140 km known as the Gaza Railway.

  While a lot of the rail lines fell into disuse, or were badly damaged in the civil strife of the 1970s, much has been rehabilitated since then. There are also plans to add new links and new connections with adjacent countries.

  Today Mozambique’s 3000 km of railways are a crucial link between landlocked countries, such as Botswana, which have large deposits of minerals, and the ports on the eastern coast, such as Beira and Maputo (once called Lourenço Marques), from which these minerals are shipped around the world. A new line, some 1100 km long, is planned to ship coal from Botswana, through Zimbabwe, to Techobanine Point in Mozambique – all technically feasible as all countries share the same 1067 mm gauge.

  MALAWI:

  Squeezed between Zambia and Mozambique lies the long thin country of Malawi. Its position may appear to be quite strategic, inasmuch as it provides a short cut between the mineral deposits of Zambia and the northern port of Nacala in Mozambique.

  Notwithstanding that key advantage, the line between Malawi and Mozambique was damaged in the latter country’s civil war, and it is only relatively recently that the full link has been reinstated.

  It goes without saying that the rail gauge of Malawi’s 800 km of lines is 1067 mm Cape-gauge, like all its companion countries in southern Africa (Tanzania excepted). One can only hope that the political strains still ongoing in this part of the world will eventually be resolved, and that full advantage can be made of this gauge commonality.

  BOTSWANA:

  While Botswana has almost 900 km of 1067 mm gauge railways, its current situation is troubled. Much of its services, including all passenger trains within the country, are actually operated by Zimbabwe, which obviously has running rights over Botswana’s rails.

  Today what is essentially a single line, originally envisaged in 1893 as part of the Cape-to-Cairo railway, runs through Gaborone along the south-east border with South Africa and along the north-east border with Zimbabwe, representing the only links with other countries. There is a proposal to build a 1500-km long Trans Sahara electrified line to Namibia, as well as a line directly to Zambia – a connection that currently can only be made through Zimbabwe, and which, considering that latter country’s unstable political and economic position, poses risks Botswana would like to ameliorate.

  There is also the proposed 1067 mm gauge 1100-km long freight line to Mozambique, mentioned above, but existing passenger links to South Africa appear to have been severed back in 1999 (today it is only possible to travel by bus between Johannesburg and Gaborone).

  NAMIBIA:

  Like Mozambique, Namibia was once a colony of a mainland European nation, but this time Germany. And again, it is perhaps not a little wondrous that, notwithstanding the preponderance of both Standard gauge and 750 mm gauge railways in Germany, the foresighted decision was made to build Namibia’s first railways to Cape-gauge – 1067 mm.

  Publicly-owned main-line railways started in Namibia in the late 1890s, with the building of the line from Swakopmund, on the coast, to inland Windhoek. This line was known as the Staatsbahn. Other lines, both government-owned and privately-owned, then followed – again under German influence. It wasn’t until after World War I, when South Africa assumed responsibility for governing Namibia, that that country took control of Namibia’s railways.

  Today, Namibia is planning and building new railways that will eventually form part of an international network linking it with the D.R. Congo through Angola to the north and Maputo in Mozambique in the east.

  Some existing lines (frequently buried by the constantly shifting sands) are being rehabilitated, especially those that connect interior towns with the major ports. The trackwork on these lines is often of a new design, consisting of quite deep longitudinal concrete bearers connected by non-load-bearing cross-ties to maintain the gauge, this type of construction being more stable and less likely to be buried in the shifting sands.

  Currently there are about 3000 km of Cape-gauge routes in operation, but that will increase as the new expansion plans reach fruition. One new line, from Oshikango, on the border with Angola, to Tsumeb, 300 km to the south-east, was opened in 2013. So far there are no plans to change from the 1067 mm Cape gauge.

  SOUTH AFRICA, LESOTHO, SWAZILAND:

  We now come to the country that is credited with originally creating Cape-gauge – South Africa (and I have included the small countries of Swaziland and Lesotho landlocked on or within South Africa’s borders, as their rail systems are all integrated). But although South Africa (SA) may have created Cape-gauge, in fact the first railways in that country were built to what was then normal practice in the rest of the world – 1435 mm Standard gauge.

  The first rail line in the whole of southern Africa was built in 1860 between Durban and Harbour Point, just 3 km away. It was built to 1435 mm gauge. By 1869, there were 110 km of 1435 mm gauge railways in the Cape and Natal provinces in SA. It was the beginning of Cecil Rhodes’s Cape-to-Cairo dream.

  But then an astonishing thing happened. In 1871, the Cape and Natal governments got together, and decided that Standard gauge was going to be too expensive as the network developed in what is a very large and quite mountainous country. And so they converted everything to 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge! It was a decision SA came to regret – although it was nearly 130 years later before that decision became a major obstacle in bringing SA’s railways into the 21st century.

  It’s not that 1067 mm gauge had really hindered railway development in southern Africa, at least up to the beginning of the 21st century. Johannesburg and Pretoria between them have a huge commuter rail network consisting of fifteen lines (11 in Johannesburg, 4 in Pretoria), connecting their city centres with such areas as Soweto, a number of towns to the south of Johannesburg, all the various towns along the Witwatersrand, and various other suburbs around the two cities. Apart from slightly slower speeds (not a huge factor when much of the time is spent accelerating and braking between stations), 1067 mm gauge is not that much of an impediment, other than perhaps that double deck coaches are not an option (the centre of gravity is too high).

  And as I’ve already mentioned before, this narrow gauge is more than capable of providing ‘heavy haul’ capability, which until recently was the main concern regarding rail gauge in Africa.

  In fact, the heaviest train EVER in the history of the world’s railways was operated on 1067 mm gauge in SA – a train 7.2 km long, consisting of 660 wagons, propelled by 15 locomotives, and with a total weight of 71 232 tonnes. That is some train!

  But heavy haul is only part of the picture. Intermodal containers cannot be double stacked on 1067 mm gauge trains like they can on Standard gauge trains – just as with double deck passenger coaches, the centre of gravity is too high. And I have already reviewed speed capabilities (see Part 1) – 1067 mm gauge falls far short of Standard gauge in terms of ultimate high speeds, and can achieve only around half of Standard gauge’s 300+ km/h everyday speeds, even on a dedicated high speed line. SA has been considering high speeds for certain lines, as well as an increase in intermodal capacity. So where does SA go from here?

  An organisation called the African Union (AU) decided that al
l new railways in Africa should be constructed to Standard gauge, especially those built in what may be new corridors. Additionally, key existing corridors (such as Johannesburg-Durban for passengers, and various freight lines linking mineral mining operations with coastal ports) should also be converted to Standard gauge. The AU recommended that ultimately the entire continent’s railways should end up with rails 1435 mm apart.

  It looks as if SA has already started on the road to conversion to Standard gauge – or has it? The end of the first decade in the 21st century saw the opening of the Gautrain – a new 1435 mm gauge 160 km/h train running the 80 km between Johannesburg, SA’s largest city, and Pretoria, the nation’s capital. Further extensions are being discussed.

  And approval has been given for the proposed 140-km long Moloto rail corridor between Pretoria and Siyabuswa in Mpumalanga province, to be built to the same standards as the Gautrain, including the use of Standard gauge.

  But that may be as far as the conversion to Standard gauge in SA goes. In 2007, a comprehensive Master Plan report prepared for the SA Department of Transport recommended that SA keep its 1067 mm gauge lines for now, resorting to Standard gauge only for new lines that can take advantage of that gauge’s additional intermodal or high speed capabilities.

  To convert everything now to 1435 mm gauge would simply be too expensive, and introduce change of gauge issues with SA’s neighbours. A better return on investment can be obtained by upgrading existing track and rolling stock.

  So for now, Cape-gauge will continue to rule in southern Africa. It will however be interesting to see what the picture will be like in, say, 40 years’ time. Will Standard gauge eventually become the norm?

  Before leaving SA, we should mention the Avontuur Railway, the tourist/heritage services which are better known as the Apple Express. This is a 610 mm gauge railway starting in Port Elizabeth and running westwards to Avontuur via Loudwater. It is claimed to be the longest railway in the world of that very narrow gauge – 285 km. It also claims to have the most powerful 610 mm gauge locomotives in the world. Because of road competition, its future is in doubt, and in fact it is understood that the passenger services have already been suspended.

  MADAGASCAR:

  Our final country in southern Arica is an island and not part of the southern Africa network at all. Madagascar has just two lines, not connected to each other, totalling 875 km in length, and of 1000 mm metre-gauge.

  MIDDLE EAST:

  Heading back north, but still connected to the African continent via the Arabian peninsula (with the Red Sea in between), we meet up with the Middle East, situated between the east coast of Egypt and a number of the former Soviet Union satellite states, and with the connection to Europe via Turkey. With this connection comes the continuation of 1435 mm Standard gauge into the Middle East.

  This is of course in general a troubled part of the world, currently (2016) the scene of many wars and major conflicts, and consequently what should be easy border crossings are in fact either impossible or fraught with extraordinary hurdles, almost all politically inspired. Some parts of these countries are completely out of bounds for Westerners, and therefore an up-to-date and accurate picture of their current railways may not be available first hand.

  TURKEY:

  Turkey is a popular destination for European tourists, and has applied to become a member of the European Union. It is therefore only too easy to forget that almost all of Turkey is in fact in Asia, and that it is really a part of the Middle East.

  The history of Turkey’s railways has to be one of the more complicated ones, involving as it did any number of both government and private interests, often competing with each other, and then, for whatever reasons, relinquishing their interests.

  With Turkey part of the Ottoman Empire, until 1920, the British were the first to be involved, sanctioning the first line in 1856, with it being opened in 1858 (though there is some doubt as to this date). This line was 130 km long, and ran from Izmir to Aydin on Turkey’s Aegean coast. It was built to 1435 mm gauge, but the precise reasons for choosing that gauge are not known, although it can be assumed that there was no reason to build it to anything other than Standard gauge.

  Certainly the easy availability of British rolling stock and locomotives, especially as British investors were involved initially, would have been a major factor. However it is doubtful at this point in time that there was any conscious intention to connect with lines in Europe (and hence consider gauge compatibility), as not only was this railway some 600 km (via Istanbul) from the nearest border point with Europe, but it is far removed from any route that might have been conceived as, say, a component in a railway linking Europe with Asia.

  The British continued to be heavy investors in the many new railways that were subsequently being built in Turkey, but changes in British priorities meant that the French and Germans took over many of these lines being built in the late 1800s and early 1900s (such as the Baghdad Railway), as British investors vetoed further investment from the UK. As both France’s and Germany’s railways were firmly to Standard gauge, Turkey’s railways continued to develop using this gauge.

  Both Germany and France had visions for through running from Western Europe via Bulgaria or Greece and the eastern European countries between. Indeed, the German-funded Baghdad Railway was part of a vision to connect Berlin with Baghdad, via Turkey, a total distance of 1600 km, and of course all to 1435 mm gauge. In the event it became a bit of a political football during the conflicting interests between Germany and Britain in World War I, and it was never completed.

  Main-line railways:

  Turkey may be in a part of the world that is struggling in many ways to embrace 21st century standards, but Turkey’s railways concede little in terms of their modernity. There are 11 000 km of main lines, much of which are electrified, including the line as far as the Bulgaria border. More lines with more electrification are being planned and constructed.

  And Turkey is not ignoring the quest for speed either. 250 km/h trains are already in operation for at least part of the main line between Ankara and Istanbul (soon to be increased to 300 km/h), and further sections are being upgraded to permit high speed running. These new lines are being both funded and built by the Chinese (and in fact are some of the first ‘export’ Chinese high speed railways to be built outside of China itself). Naturally all these are to Standard gauge.

  When it comes to international connections, Turkey’s position as the ‘bridge’ between Europe and Asia is put to good effect – but not as good as it could be, simply because not every country that Turkey shares a border with uses Standard gauge. To the north and west, Turkey has Standard gauge connections (with some through trains) with Bulgaria and Greece, its two European neighbours.

  To the south and east in the neighbouring Middle East countries, Turkey has direct Standard gauge rail links with Syria and Iran, where there are trains from Turkey to Tehran and Tebriz. There are even direct trains from Syria to Iran passing through Turkey. Iraq, however, while also Standard gauge, can only be reached via Syria, even though Turkey and Iraq also share a border with each other.

  This represents the end of the direct connections on 1435 mm gauge tracks. The remaining connections are with CIS countries (Georgia and the separate Azerbaijan Naxcivan exclave) and we are now into 1520 mm gauge territory, which will be covered in Part 4, including the break-of-gauge measures currently in place at the borders with Turkey. Train links with Armenia are currently closed, even though there are physical connections – but then all links between Armenia and Turkey are closed (including what was a rail corridor through Armenia to Azerbaijan proper).

  There is a little bit of interesting history regarding this rail corridor, what was once the main railway line from Kars, now in Turkey, via Gyumri in Armenia, to Baku, in Azerbaijan on the Caspian Sea. Kars used to be in country that was once part of the Russian Empire. During World War I, this line became a 1524 mm gauge supply route for Russian troops f
ighting in Anatolia.

  After the war, Kars became part of Turkey, and the line was re-gauged to Standard gauge to the Armenian border, while Armenia and Azerbaijan remained on Russian 1524 mm gauge, a situation which exists to this day (other than the adjustment to 1520 mm gauge). This will be covered in more detail in Part 4, but I include it here, as it does form part of Turkey’s history regarding railway gauges.

  Narrow gauge:

  There were some private narrow gauge railways in Turkey. The Osman University line was built to 600 mm gauge, and remains in use today. Other lines now closed include the Bursa Railway (1100 mm gauge), and the Samsun Çarsamba Railway (750 mm gauge).

  Metro and trams:

  Turkey has quite a number of light rail and tram systems. Adana, Ankara, Bursa (newly opened, uses new very stylish Turkish-built trams), Istanbul, and Izmir have either tram/light rail or metro (or combinations of both) to Standard gauge. In addition, 1435 mm gauge trams are to be found in Antalya, as well as in Gazantiep (uses renovated trams from Frankfurt), Istanbul, Keyseri, Konya and Samsun.

  Metre-gauge tram systems (some recently opened, some heritage lines) run in Bursa (heritage line), Eskişehir, Istanbul (heritage line only on the Asian side) and Moda, just outside Istanbul.