The expectation was there, the hype was there, and the build up was obviously intended to show that, despite those earlier set backs at airports and stadiums and glass factories, the government, this time around was going to deliver the genuine article. There would be no last minute cock-ups, no unexpected hitches, everything was going to be done to perfection. Alas, the auguries could not have been worse. It was reported that the management of Botswana Railways (BR) was being investigated by DCEC, and that the Board admitted that it had brought it in, having been totally sidelined and rendered ineffective by BR’s management.
I saw no statement refuting this report. The great day arrived with those principally involved in the re-birth of the Blue Train, holding their breaths and hoping desperately that there would be no further disasters. In the event, it couldn’t have been much worse. The train wouldn’t go. And stranded passengers in Francistown were left asking if it would help if they all gave it a push? But I remain much puzzled by these strange events. We have been led to understand that these trains would run every night from Lobatse to Francistown and from Francistown to Lobatse crossing presumably, as in the old days, at Mahalapye.
