Beitbridge-Masvingo Highway Temporarily Closed As Damaged Railway Crossing Is Repaired

5 years agoSun, 18 Nov 2018 12:48:57 GMT

Beitbridge-Masvingo Highway Temporarily Closed As Damaged Railway Crossing Is Repaired

The Beitbridge-Masvingo highway has been temporarily closed to allow for the repair of a railway crossing extensively damaged last week when a haulage truck collided with a goods train. The accident occurred at the level crossing 5km from the Beitbridge border post. Work to clear the line started on Friday after huge cranes were brought from Harare.

The cost of repairing the damage is expected to run into millions of dollars. In a public notice on Friday, the Transport and Infrastructural Development ministry said the road would be closed from 7 am to 3 pm. The Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway Company’s (BBR) chief executive Thembi Moyo said

Work on lifting the wreckage from the site of Sunday’s collision between a South Africa-bound goods train and a haulage vehicle near Beitbridge is in progress. Heavy lifting began on Friday after we secured heavy-duty cranes from Harare.

It will only be possible to make an informed guess about how long it will take to reopen the line once the wreckage has been lifted off it. This was a major accident, which has caused damage not only to the derailed locomotives and wagons but to about 160 metres of railway track.
As the accident occurred at a level crossing, it will be necessary to close the road for about eight hours to reconstruct the section of the uprooted railway line that crosses the road. BBR is working with the relevant authorities in connection with the notices and permits that are needed for a road closure. In the meantime, work will continue on the rest of the damaged railway track.
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BBR would like to appeal to all road users to exercise extreme caution at level crossings in order to ensure there is no train approaching before driving across it. If there is an approaching train, it is always safest to wait for the train to pass before proceeding across the level crossing.