View source for Eswatini Railways

{{Short description|Railway operator in Eswatini}}
[[File:Eswatini Railways-Logo.png|260px|right]]
{{Swazi Rail route diagram}}
'''Eswatini Railways''' ('''ESR'''), formerly known as '''Swaziland Railway''' or '''Swazi Rail''', is the national railway corporation of [[Eswatini]].

== Overview ==
[[File:Eswatini rail network map.svg|thumb|right|Map of the Eswatini Railways network]]
As in the rest of Southern Africa, the {{convert|301|km}} rail system of Eswatini is built to the narrow [[Cape gauge]] of {{RailGauge|1067mm}}. ESR only provides service for transportation of goods, not passengers.

ESR's rail system is used to connect the land-locked country to the sea. The east-west link, called the Goba line, leads from [[Matsapha]] (near [[Manzini, Eswatini|Manzini]]) through [[Sidvokodvo]], [[Phuzumoya]] and [[Mpaka]] to [[Goba, Mozambique|Goba]] in [[Mozambique]]. From Goba a [[Mozambique Ports and Railways]] line connects to the ports of [[Matola]] and [[Maputo]]. Swazi Rail also has two connections to [[South Africa]]: a northern link from Mpaka to [[Komatipoort]] in [[Mpumalanga]] on the [[Pretoria]]–Maputo railway, and a southern link from Phuzumoya to [[Golela]] in [[KwaZulu-Natal]], from where the [[Transnet Freight Rail|Transnet]] network connects to the ports of [[Richards Bay]] and [[Durban]].

==History==
In 1902 the British administration of Eswatini agreed with the Portuguese administration of Mozambique to construct a railway line from Lourenço Marques (now Maputo) to Eswatini. The Mozambican section as far as Goba was opened in 1905, but the line was not continued across the border. In 1927 the Zululand Railway in South Africa reached Golela on the southern border of Eswatini. The development of the [[Ngwenya Mine]] in the 1960s gave a new impetus to railway construction in Eswatini. Between 1961 and 1964, the east-west line was constructed from Goba to Matsapha and onwards to [[Ngwenya]]. Mining at Ngwenya ceased by 1980, and the railway beyond Matsapha was abandoned.

The [[Mozambican War of Independence]] and the subsequent [[Mozambican Civil War]] caused disruption to Swazi trade through the Mozambican ports, and in 1977 the South African Railways agreed to the construction of a link from the railhead at Golela to the existing line at Phuzumoya. This line, opened in 1978, gave Eswatini rail access to Durban and Richards Bay. In 1986, the northern link from Komatipoort to Mpaka was opened, providing a shorter route for traffic from [[Phalaborwa]] and the [[Lowveld]] to Richards Bay.

== Managed infrastructure ==

The company manages three main railway lines, the [[Goba railway]], the Komatipoort railway and the Richards Bay railway.

===Goba railway line===
{{main|Goba railway}}
It is the main railway trunk in Eswatini. It serves as a link between the city of [[Matsapha]] and the city of [[Mlawula]], allowing connection with the [[Port Maputo|port of Maputo]], in [[Mozambique]].

===Komatipoort railway line===
It serves as a connection between the cities of [[Komatipoort]], in [[South Africa]], and [[Mpaka]], in Eswatini.

===Richards Bay railway line===
It serves as a connection between the cities of [[Richards Bay]], in South Africa, and [[Siphofaneni]]/[[Phuzumoya]], in Eswatini.

==Passenger Service==
Eswatini Rail advertises a tourist train, but does not offer a certain date for the next course.<ref>https://eswatinirail.co.sz/tourtrain/ (visited on 22024-08-08)</ref>

==Interconnection projects==
===Swazilink===
In January 2012, the [[Swazilink]] project was announced, which would connect [[Sidvokodvo]] to [[Lothair, South Africa|Lothair]] in [[Mpumalanga]] in [[South Africa]]. This would divert freight traffic from the [[Richards Bay]] line and the Goba line.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/ceremony-launches-swazilink-project.html|access-date=22 January 2012|title=Railway Gazette: Ceremony launches Swazilink project|work=[[Railway Gazette International]]|archive-date=21 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121012822/http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/ceremony-launches-swazilink-project.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.railpage.com.au/f-t11364736.htm|title=Unavailable / Railpage|website=www.railpage.com.au|access-date=2017-09-03}}</ref> In June 2014, SR estimated that the link would cost R17 billion and could enter service in 2017.<ref>{{cite news|title=NEW SWAZILAND LINK LINE TO RUN IN 2017|url=http://www.railwaysafrica.com/blog/2014/06/17/new-swaziland-link-line-run-2017/|access-date=2 July 2014|work=Railways Africa|archive-date=14 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714172815/http://www.railwaysafrica.com/blog/2014/06/17/new-swaziland-link-line-run-2017/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Transport in Eswatini#Railways|Transport in Eswatini]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}
* [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/eswatini/ CIA Factbook]

== External links ==
{{commons category|Rail transport in Eswatini}}
* [http://www.eswatinirail.co.sz// Eswatini Railways Official Site]
{{Transport in Eswatini}}
{{Africa in topic|Rail transport in}}

[[Category:Railway companies of Eswatini]]