NRZ's history begins with the creation of the
Bechuanaland Railway Company on 24 May 1893. It was renamed Rhodesia Railways Ltd (RR) on 1 July 1899. At the same time, on 13 April 1897, the
Mashonaland Railway Company (MRC) was founded. On 1 March 1905 the small Ayrshire Gold Mine &
Lomangundi Railway Company — which had been founded in 1900 — merged with MRC. A similar event would occur with the
Beira & Mashonaland Railway (also founded in 1900), which merged on 1 October 1927 with the MRC. Finally, MRC itself would be absorbed by Rhodesia Railways Ltd on 31 March 1937. By 1965 it had 427 locomotives, 11,000 coaches and wagons, and 29,000 employees and carried over 4,000,000 passengers per year.
Nationalisation of Rhodesia Railways On 1 April 1947 Rhodesia Railways Ltd (RR) became owned by the
Southern Rhodesian government and continued to operate in that territory and
Northern Rhodesia and
Bechuanaland as well, retaining the name Rhodesia Railways. The
railways in Nyasaland remained separate.
Changes to the Rhodesia Railways network Rhodesia Railways operated the Beira Railway from the
Mozambique border to
Beira until 6 April 1949 when it was purchased by the Portuguese colonial government. In December 1959, RR sold the
Mafeking–
Ramatlhabama section of its southernmost line to
South African Railways.
Rhodesia Railways 1967–1979 The name Rhodesia Railways continued to be used for the network in the former Southern Rhodesia, now just '
Rhodesia', and for the line through
Botswana. Rhodesia Railways was a heavy user of the
Garratt locomotive. In June 1976, 100 of its 109 steam locomotives were Garratts. For operational purposes, Rhodesia Railways was divided into two areas: those lines north-east of
Gwelo fell into the Eastern Area, with all other lines in the Southern Area.
Founding of NRZ On 1 July 1979 when Rhodesia changed its name to '
Zimbabwe Rhodesia' the Railway technically became the 'Zimbabwe Rhodesian Railways' for less than a year. On 1 May the following year after the
Republic of Zimbabwe came into being, it gained its current name, National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ). In 1987, the NRZ renounced ownership of Botswana's interior lines (an act left over from the colonial period), giving rise to that country's state-owned railway, the
Botswana Railways. Goods transport has declined, from 18 million tonnes in 1998 to 2 million tonnes in 2010. In 2019, it was reported that train drivers were resorting to using
WhatsApp messages to communicate, due to the unreliability of signalling and control systems. At this time NRZ operated around 100 locomotives and a 'few hundred' carriages.
Recent history and recapitalisation Between 2001 and 2006 a commuter rail service operated in Harare and Bulawayo. Three lines were operated in Harare and two in Bulawayo. They were nicknamed 'Freedom Trains. Between May and July 2017, a bidding process for the recapitalisation/privatisation of the company was initiated. Six companies successfully submitted their proposals. The winner of the process was the Diaspora Infrastructure Development Group (DIDG), a consortium of Zimbabwean and South African companies. Subsequently, the bid was cancelled due to irregularities. In November 2018 a commuter service was revived in Bulawayo with one line. In 2021, commuter rail service in Harare was started in cooperation with
ZUPCO, the local bus company, operating three routes to Tynwald,
Mufakose and
Ruwa. In November 2022, approximately a year after being introduced, they were suspended again due to a payment dispute with ZUPCO. In 2020, all passenger services were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of May 2023, passenger services have not been reintroduced. NRZ cites the age and state of repair of passenger carriages, as well as speed restrictions on some sections of track as the reason for the continued suspension, although are looking to reintroduce services at some point in the future. == Operations ==