Welcome Blue Train

Monitor Editor | Monday January 26, 2015 11:01

We hope this is not just a market survey by the Botswana Railways to find out the true cost of the trains, but a display of a serious intention to return the passenger train that was stopped in 2009. According to the adverts, Botswana Railways is seeking to secure various classes of the passenger coaches as Generator Vans, First class, economy class, business class, buffet car, and luggage vans. We can only hope that the processes of procuring these coaches does not take a whole year. Talk of the return of the passenger train has been on the agenda for the last two years and there were hopes that Government would ensure the train service  be resumed ahead of the 2014 elections

Train services, like post office services, is one of the basic services that a nation cannot afford to be without. They are naturally expensive and have little returns or profit but are there to make life a bit easier for the ordinary man. It will come as a relief also to commuters in the greater Gaborone as workers from places such as Lobatse and Mochudi, would once again rely on the train for travel to and from work at affordable prices. As we celebrate the return of the Blue Train, we cannot ignore the importance of connecting the nearby towns such as Molepolole, Kanye, to the railway line to make their lives easier as well.

There is no doubt that there are a large number of workers commuting from these towns to Gaborone on a daily basis. We need to invest more on the railway lines, not only for the commuters to and fro Gaborone but also to help stimulate economic growth, allowing goods and services to be ferried through the cheaper mode of rail transport.  The return of the passenger train would no doubt bring positive spinoffs, as services like taxis, kiosks, fast foods are sure to benefit from the resumption of this service.

Above all, the ordinary Motswana would see the resumption of this service as a cost serving measure, as rail transport is far more affordable than road transport. In many cases the train is also much more safer in terms of accidents and fatalities, compared to road.

Our people will once again be able to travel through the night on the train, all the way from Francistown to Gaborone, and be able to run their errands during the day before catching the train in the evening, even without incurring  expensive lodging costs.