Gaborone – Botswana Railways has launched a temporary trial of through-working freight trains from South Africa directly into Gaborone, in a move aimed at addressing fleet challenges and cutting transit delays along one of the region’s key rail corridors.
The trial commenced on 19 May 2026 and was announced by the Botswana Railways Board and Management as a strategic initiative to tackle locomotive availability challenges, reduce operational inefficiencies and improve customer satisfaction and retention.
Before the trial, freight moving between South Africa and Botswana required intermediate storage at Mafikeng, which added costs and time to the journey. The new arrangement allows freight trains to cross the border without transhipment, shortening lead times and removing what Botswana Railways described as an avoidable expense.
For businesses and shippers that rely on the rail corridor, the central benefit is predictability. The direct movement improves transparency in transit schedules and supports better planning for both shippers and their end customers.
Botswana Railways said it will closely monitor a range of performance metrics during the trial period, including transit times, on-time deliveries, locomotive utilisation, dwell times and customer feedback. The results will inform decisions on whether to scale the model and how to optimise cross-border rail operations going forward. Reciprocal movements into South Africa are also expected to be trialled in the near future.
The Board and Management said the trial represents a decisive and practical step towards overcoming current fleet challenges and serving customers more effectively.
“By enabling through-working freight trains into Gaborone, BR aims to reduce delays, cut unnecessary costs and restore confidence in its rail offering,” the organisation said.
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