Mozambique: Cheap rail travel boosts cross-border trade
Angelina Sidumo is one of the hundreds of traders that throng the busy train station in the Mozambican capital, Maputo, on most Wednesday afternoons to catch the once-weekly train south to Chicualacuala town in Gaza Province, an 18-hour journey covering nearly 500km.
Like any seasoned traveller, Sidumo knows that the train, run by Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Mocambique, or Mozambican Ports and Railways, will start at least three hours late as passengers make a dash for last-minute bookings, grab luggage, give hugs and handshakes, take parcels and messages.
"It is a long journey from Maputo city to Gaza," remarked Sidumo, who was sheltering from the intense glare of the sun in the shade of a carport outside the station. "The journey takes almost a full day, but for me it is the cheapest form of transport to Chicualacuala, where I sell biscuits and drinks, and come back with fruits to sell in Maputo."
Article courtesy of IRIN