A freight train derailed early Sunday morning (2nd) in the Dondo district, Sofala province, following an act of vandalism on the railway line. The incident, described as sabotage by Mozambique Railways (CFM), injured one of the train drivers and caused material damage estimated at 448 million meticais (7 million dollars), according to Lusa news agency.
According to a source from the railway company, the derailment was caused by a deliberate cut to the main line rail, carried out by unidentified individuals. “It was an act of sabotage. There was a cut in the main line rail, made by unknown people,” said the source, emphasizing that the criminal act affected two locomotives and eight wagons.
Technical teams from CFM are currently on site removing the derailed equipment and repairing the line, with train circulation expected to resume within the next 24 hours. “Right now, the line is being restored. First, the derailed rolling stock — the locomotives and wagons — are being removed, and then the line repair will begin. We estimate about 24 hours, more or less, to restore it,” the same source explained.
This is not an isolated case. The company recently revealed that the southern railway network alone has suffered losses of about 128 million meticais (2 million dollars) this year due to theft and vandalism of infrastructure. In September, during the Forum for the Prevention and Combat of Vandalism of Public Infrastructure, Arnaldo Manjate, Director of Railway Operations for CFM-South, reported the removal of equipment and destruction of switch devices — actions that cost the company nearly 5 million meticais (78 thousand dollars).
According to Manjate, the sale of stolen materials — such as rails and metal sleepers — to scrap dealers has been fueling this type of crime. “We’re only considering the stolen material, but the amount we end up spending due to train stoppages, also caused by derailments resulting from this situation, could reach around 2 million dollars (128 million meticais),” he warned.
Mozambique’s railway network, managed by CFM, is divided into three regions — South, Central, and North — not interconnected with each other, but strategically linked to neighboring countries such as South Africa, Eswatini, and Zimbabwe.
In 2024, 6,815,251 passengers were transported in the Central and Southern regions — nearly half a million more than projected by the company — representing a 3% increase compared to 2023.
To meet growing demand, the Mozambican government announced in April an investment plan of about 13 billion meticais (203 million dollars) by 2030. The funding will go toward doubling tracks, completing strategic sections — such as the final 25 kilometers of the Ressano Garcia line in Maputo — and acquiring over 30 passenger carriages, 250 wagons, and at least 15 mainline locomotives, thereby strengthening the nation’s passenger and freight transport capacity.
Source: Diário Económico
