Rail transport in Namibia
to Rail service in Namibia is provided by TransNamib. Namibia's rail network consists of 2,382 route-km of tracks, however this number continues to increase as the rail infrastructure continues to grow.
Namibia has a history of more than 100 years of railway service. During the colonialisation by the German Empire between 1894 and 1915, a number of railways were built, some of which are still in service today.
The building of German South West Africa's railways began with a small mining rail line at Cape Cross in 1895. The first major railway project was started in 1897 when the German Colonial Authority build the "Staatsbahn" (state railway) from Swakopmund to Windhoek. By 1902 the line was completed. Parallel to this government initiative the Otavi Mining and Railway Company (O.M.E.G.) was established which built a line from Swakopmund to Tsumeb via Otavi between 1903 and 1906, and a branch from Otavi to Grootfontein in 1907/08.
The German colonial railway was taken over by the Railways of South Africa after World War I, and linked into the network of South Africa. After the independence of Namibia, TransNamib took control of the national rail network that operates on 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm).
Plans to integrate the railways of Africa to facilitate trade were discussed at the Africa Rail conference in Johannesburg, South Africa in August 2002. The move forms part of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), a programme aimed at economic renaissance.
The railways were built by former colonial powers, but were not built to advance African interests. Plans were put into place to link the three parallel east-west lines in Angola and to connect the Angolan network to that of Namibia and hence to South Africa.
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