Mozambique: Limpopo Line re-opens

Mozambique’s publicly owned port and rail company (CFM) on Friday announced the reopening of the Limpopo rail line, which had been closed for three months because of the torrential rains and subsequent flooding of January. The CFM management announced that the line was now open for both goods and passenger services. The Limpopo line goes from Maputo to Chicualacuala on the border with Zimbabwe.

It also includes services from Maputo to the sugar town of Xinavane. The reopening was then re-scheduled for mid-April, but the train could only start moving again on 1 May. Under normal circumstances there are four trains a day on the Limpopo line.

The closure of the line for three months, meant that goods trains could no longer reach Zimbabwe, causing heavy losses for CFM. On 23 April, the CFM chairperson, Agostinho Langa, put the losses at 47 million dollars. Of this sum, 12.75 million dollars referred to lost cargo and 25 million dollars to the repair of the line. “These are significant sums, which could compromise the results envisaged for 2026, if we do not adopt effective measures”, said Langa.