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provided a relatively fast and affordable way of travelling between the different towns of the island. As a result, towns were getting ‘closer’ to each other; facilitating commercial exchanges. The development of the railway network also led to the creation of new agglomerations: future towns, near the stations.
294:
were the main economic activities; as such the railway provided an opportunity of commercial exchange for the rural areas. Goods and crops, mainly sugar cane, were carried with efficacy and in increasing quantity. From 1880 to 1910, approximately 100,000 tons of sugar cane was carried by trains. This
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commenced. The newly constructed line partly follows the route of the former
Midlands line (between Port Louis and Quatre Bornes). Operations on the northern section started in December 2019, the full line originally was scheduled to open in 2021, later the opening date was pushed back to December
298:
The railway network also contributed to the field of education, as it provided transport to the major towns of the island, where the schools were found. The railway had a great impact on the lifestyle of the population; everybody traveled by train. From the richest to the poorest, the railway
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and Rose Hill. This was because the train gave opportunity to the population to leave the capital, which was considered an insalubrious place due to the raging epidemic of fever that was killing thousands of people in the capital and its neighborhood during the 1866–1968 period.
332:
The last passenger train made its journey on 31 March 1956, between Port-Louis and
Curepipe. Carrying of sugar, heavy goods and general merchandise continued till 1964. The railway network was then dismantled and sold as scrap metal. Some of the
316:
The most serious accident to occur on the network was on the 22 February 1894 at
Pailles. Partly caused by a storm, six passenger carriages ended up in the Saint-Louis river, causing the death of 40 passengers and injuring many others.
274:
The maximum length of the
Mauritian railway network was 250 km (155 mi). The railways contributed, to a great extent, to the socio-economic development of the island from the late 19th century to the middle 20th century.
329:. At the same time, the road networks were developing quickly and the number of road vehicles doubled in the after-war period. Faced with the railway's persistent deficit, the colonial authority decided to close the railways.
61:
Mauritius was developing rapidly in the 1860s. To progress further, it needed to modernize its transportation system. As such, introduction of a railway network was essential for the future development of the island. With
69:
The first line opened in 1864; it was named the North line. The second line, the
Midlands line, started functioning in 1865. With developing urbanisation, secondary lines were gradually extended. All of these lines were
302:
While some villages progressed with the introduction of railways, the railway was also, at a certain point, a deterrent for the progress of villages such as Port-Louis, which saw a major exile of its population towards
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lines, each connecting a sugar mill with nearby sugar cane plantations. Some of the steam locomotives used on these lines are now preserved, mostly at various sugar mills around
Mauritius.
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45:
began in the 1860s. The
Mauritian rail network was quickly built and it soon provided service to most of the island. It was a key factor in the social-economic development of
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during its period of operation. However, due to persistent unprofitability from 1948 to 1953, it was closed in 1964. In 2019, the
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2022. A connection between Rose Hill and Réduit, following the route of the old Moka-Flacq line, is under construction as well.
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The North line covered 50 km (31 mi) and started operation on 23 May 1864. It passed through the districts of
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556:"Das Mootanah (Metro Express): the acquisition of land from Rose-Hill to Ebony has already started – archyworldys"
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The Moka-Flacq line, which opened on 11 December 1876. It joined the
Midlands line at Rose Hill, and ran through
50:
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As the rural areas developed, the railway network was gradually extended. There were four secondary lines:
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135:
672:
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At its apogee, the
Mauritius Government Railways had a fleet of 52 steam locomotives, including three
236:
150:
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A restored narrow-gauge locomotive that once worked sugar cane trains. Casela Bird Park, Cascavelle.
472:
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33:
477:. Port Louis, Mauritius: Govt. Printer. pp. 8–9 – via National Library of Australia.
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The Long
Mountain branch, which was 6.5 km (4 mi) long, opened on 21 September 1903.
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Secondary lines were crucial in boosting development in some of the rural villages, such as
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243:. Mauritian rail vehicles and operating practices were predominantly British in style.
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as hub, the railway network quickly developed and was soon covering most of the island.
18:
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The Savanne branch joined the Midlands line at Rose-Belle and ran through the
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The Midlands line covered 56 km (35 mi). It connected Port-Louis to
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light rail system opened, bringing rail passenger traffic back to Mauritius.
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The Black-River line, 21 km (13 mi) long, ran from Port-Louis to
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514:"Mauritius starts construction of $ 557 million light rail system"
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International Steam Pages: Preserved Steam in Mauritius – Page 1
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Histoire de la Colonie: Isle de France - Ile Maurice (1721-1968)
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661:- images of preserved narrow gauge steam engines in Mauritius.
605:
A History of the Mauritius Government Railways, 1864 to 1964
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A history of the Mauritius Government Railways 1864 to 1964
607:. Port Louis, Mauritius: J. Eliel Félix, Govt. Printer.
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The railway network continued its operation, well after
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map of Mauritius, 1910, showing railway lines in black
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of South Africa and some of the rail went to India.
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Role of railway network in development of the island
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355:In 2017, construction of a 26 km (16 mi)
295:changed with the introduction of lorries, in 1920.
588:(in French). Mauritius: Musée de la Photographie.
231:, numbers 60 to 62, two 500 hp (370 kW)
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8:
37:Former railway bridge near L'Escalier, 2009
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492:. Editions de L'Océan Indien. p. 94.
215:; it became operational on 27 August 1904.
624:(3rd ed.). London: Longmans Green.
32:
17:
434:
43:history of rail transport in Mauritius
535:"Mauritius Metro Express inaugurated"
235:("Jessop"), together with nearly 200
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1094:History of rail transport by country
696:History of rail transport in Africa
259:Mauritius also once had a number of
208:, measuring 18 km (11 mi).
14:
1099:History of transport in Mauritius
25:works photo of Mauritius Railway
995:Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
765:Democratic Republic of the Congo
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392:
378:
586:Le Dernier Train: un romanquête
471:Jessop, Arthur (October 1964).
29:locomotive no 60, taken in 1927
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622:Island of the Swan: Mauritius
541:Railway Gazette International
444:Atlas of the World's Railways
233:diesel-hydraulic locomotives
23:Beyer, Peacock & Company
1104:Rail transport in Mauritius
649:Rail transport in Mauritius
442:Hollingsworth, J B (1980).
413:Rail transport in Mauritius
134:, to end at the station of
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584:Bréville, Tristan (2005).
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408:History of rail transport
351:Metro Express (Mauritius)
750:Central African Republic
488:Nagapen, Amédée (2010).
620:Malim, Michael (1952).
603:Jessop, Arthur (1964).
282:, where plantations of
418:Transport in Mauritius
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136:Grand River South East
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910:São Tomé and Príncipe
770:Republic of the Congo
651:at Wikimedia Commons
337:was sold as scrap to
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560:Mauritius Newspapers
985:States with limited
264:industrial railway
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128:Rivière du Rempart
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1012:other territories
785:Equatorial Guinea
647:Media related to
595:978-99903-36-21-4
499:978-99903-0-619-4
237:passenger coaches
111:Waterlow and Sons
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1072:(United Kingdom)
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564:. Retrieved
562:. 2021-07-14
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987:recognition
940:South Sudan
830:Ivory Coast
280:Black-River
147:Beau Bassin
1088:Categories
1042:(Portugal)
1000:Somaliland
920:Seychelles
885:Mozambique
870:Mauritania
855:Madagascar
810:The Gambia
745:Cape Verde
566:2021-07-14
424:References
361:Port Louis
357:light rail
288:sugar cane
171:Rose-Belle
118:Main lines
64:Port-Louis
57:Beginnings
875:Mauritius
630:479104227
345:Reopening
312:Accidents
151:Rose Hill
143:Mahébourg
47:Mauritius
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975:Zimbabwe
950:Tanzania
800:Ethiopia
795:Eswatini
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740:Cameroon
725:Botswana
659:– Page 2
372:See also
365:Curepipe
305:Curepipe
239:and 750
229:Garratts
206:Souillac
167:Curepipe
86: in
1051:Réunion
1047:Mayotte
1038:Madeira
1033:(Spain)
1029:Melilla
960:Tunisia
930:Somalia
915:Senegal
900:Nigeria
890:Namibia
880:Morocco
845:Liberia
840:Lesotho
790:Eritrea
760:Comoros
735:Burundi
710:Algeria
519:Reuters
321:Closure
284:tobacco
213:Tamarin
159:Phoenix
102:Network
81:⁄
27:Garratt
1070:
1053:
1040:
970:Zambia
965:Uganda
905:Rwanda
860:Malawi
820:Guinea
715:Angola
628:
613:636712
611:
592:
496:
454:
163:Vacoas
1025:Ceuta
945:Sudan
895:Niger
850:Libya
835:Kenya
815:Ghana
805:Gabon
780:Egypt
720:Benin
578:Books
448:Rigby
429:Notes
292:aloes
132:Flacq
955:Togo
865:Mali
755:Chad
626:OCLC
609:OCLC
590:ISBN
494:ISBN
452:ISBN
363:and
290:and
191:Moka
169:and
130:and
41:The
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