Transport in Botswana
A sparsely populated, arid country, Botswana has nonetheless managed to incorporate much of its interior into the national economy. An "inner circle" highway connecting all major towns and district capitals is completely paved, and the all-weather Trans-Kalahari Highway connects the country (and, through it, South Africa's commercially dominant Gauteng Province) to Walvis Bay in Namibia.
Railways
Botswana possesses 888 km of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge railway, by 2019 figures, serving a number of towns and connecting the country to its neighbours.
Towns served by rail
All passenger services were discontinued in 2009, with the only remaining service being an international link to Zimbabwe from Francistown. Freight trains still operate. Passenger service was expected to resume in late 2015.[1] Passenger services were later re-introduced in March 2016. Botswana Railways run 2 nightly passenger trains, one from Lobatse to Francistown, and the other from Francistown to Lobatse, with stops in Gaborone, Mahalapye, Palapye, and Serule. The passenger train is termed the "BR Express" (Botswana Railways Express).
Highways
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Botswana possesses 10,217 km of highway, of which 5,620 km are paved. Since 1996 estimates, there has been a significant reduction in the total length of unpaved highway in Botswana - between 1996 and 1999 total length of unpaved highway fell from 14,139 km to 4,597 km.
Traditionally, road signs in Botswana used blue backgrounds rather than the yellow, white, or orange which the rest of the world uses on traffic warning signs. In the early 2010s, officials announced plans to begin phasing out the distinctive blue signs in favor of more typical signs in order to be more in line with the neighboring Southern African Development Community member states.[2]
Airports
In 2004 there were an estimated 85 airports, 10 of which (as of 2005), were paved. The government-owned Air Botswana operates scheduled flights to Francistown, Gaborone, Maun, and Selebi-Phikwe. There is international service to Johannesburg, South Africa; Mbabane, Swaziland; and Harare, Zimbabwe. A new international airport near Gaborone was opened in 1984. Air passengers arriving to and departing from Botswana during 2003 totalled about 183,000.
External links
References
- ↑ Passenger train is coming back, Tue 09 Dec 2014, Mmegi Online, http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?aid=47955
- ↑ "Mmegi Online" staff writer Maranyane Ngwanaamotho (Dec 21, 2011). "Old road signs are being phased out". Retrieved Oct 5, 2012.
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