{"id":42884,"date":"2024-02-01T06:31:15","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T06:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/?p=42884"},"modified":"2024-02-01T05:00:01","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T05:00:01","slug":"the-loss-making-blue-train-wont-return-anytime-soon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/the-loss-making-blue-train-wont-return-anytime-soon","title":{"rendered":"The loss-making Blue Train won\u2019t return anytime soon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. <\/strong><\/span>The government’s stance on returning the passenger train popularly known as the Blue train hasn\u2019t changed as the latter is not expected to hit the rail line anytime soon.<\/b><\/p>\n

The loss-making commuter train stopped operation in January 2020 because it was not convenient, profitable and sustainable to run it. After Botswana Railways (BR) indicated in 2022 that the train won\u2019t return anytime soon, the Minister of Transport and Public Works Eric Molale reiterated this week before Ntlo Ya Dikgosi that that government will not return the passenger bus train because it is not feasible as it was running at a loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently my ministry has no plans to revive the use of the passenger train which was halted during the COVID 19 pandemic. It is worth noting that the passenger train has been operating at a loss since inception,\u201d he said. The passenger train losses has been mainly attributed to overhaul and maintenance costs of locomotives and wagons as well as other costs associated with train operations like fuel and wagon hire.<\/p>\n

Molale further added that thoughts of returning the passenger train will only be entertained after the BR and his ministry sees some profits in the next five years. \u201cMy ministry through BR will be undertaking a five year transformation plan commencing 2024\/2025 financial year in order to attain business growth and profitability. That\u2019s when consideration will be made,\u201d Molale emphasised.<\/p>\n

He was responding to a question from Kgosi Mosojane from North East region who had asked if the government has any plans to resurrect the use of the train. He cited a reason of safety as a need for the return of the train.<\/p>\n

The minister acknowledged that the train does provide a safe and secure transport between Gaborone and Francistown but his ministry is constrained from reinforcing the passenger train.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Botswana<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. The government’s stance on returning the passenger train popularly known as the Blue train hasn\u2019t changed as the latter is not expected to hit the rail line anytime soon. The loss-making commuter train stopped operation in January 2020 because it was not convenient, profitable and sustainable to run it. After Botswana Railways […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":42883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-42884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-botswana","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"\nThe loss-making Blue Train won\u2019t return anytime soon - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The government's stance on returning the passenger train popularly known as the Blue train hasn\u2019t changed as the latt ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/the-loss-making-blue-train-wont-return-anytime-soon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The loss-making Blue Train won\u2019t return anytime soon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The government's stance on returning the passenger train popularly known as the Blue train hasn\u2019t changed as the latt ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/the-loss-making-blue-train-wont-return-anytime-soon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Botswana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-01T06:31:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2024\/02\/sm_1706750902.110898.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"532\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/the-loss-making-blue-train-wont-return-anytime-soon#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/the-loss-making-blue-train-wont-return-anytime-soon\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"The loss-making Blue Train won\u2019t return anytime soon\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-01T06:31:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/the-loss-making-blue-train-wont-return-anytime-soon\"},\"wordCount\":324,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/the-loss-making-blue-train-wont-return-anytime-soon#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2024\/02\/sm_1706750902.110898.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Botswana\",\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/the-loss-making-blue-train-wont-return-anytime-soon#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/the-loss-making-blue-train-wont-return-anytime-soon\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/the-loss-making-blue-train-wont-return-anytime-soon\",\"name\":\"The loss-making Blue Train won\u2019t return anytime soon - 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