Rail transport in Malawi

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Malawi’s main rail network, run for many years by a government body until privatization in 1999, is operated by a private consortium, Central East African Railways, from December 1999. The network had about 797 kilometers of track in 2001 and uses Cape gauge of 1067 mm, which is common in Southern Africa.

Nkaya is an important rail hub connecting the Nacala railway with the Sena railway. The Nacala line can reach the Port of Nacala in eastern Mozambique and the Moatize coal mines in northwestern Mozambique. The Sena railway (Shire Highlands railway) links Mchinji, Lilongwe, Salima, Nkaya, Blantyre, Nsanje, Nhamayabué, Dondo, and the Port of Beira.

The Nacala and Sena routes have not been fully operational since the Mozambican civil war and need rebuilding. In April 2011, Malawi and the Brazilian mining company Vale agreed to build a 100-kilometer shortcut from Moatize coal mines to Blantyre, connecting with tracks to the Port of Nacala.

In 2015, there was a proposal to extend the Chipata line to join the TAZARA line at Serenje in Zambia; the contract for this extension was awarded in 2016. Malawi has no direct rail link to Tanzania because of gauge differences (Malawi’s 1067 mm Cape gauge vs. Tanzania’s 1000 mm metre gauge), creating a break of gauge.

A rail link from Malawi to Chipata in Zambia was completed in 1984, but the onward connection into Zambia opened in 2010. The Chipata line has limited use due to few facilities at Chipata.