The Beitbridge Bulawayo Railway (BBR) is a privately owned railway company that provides a rail link in Zimbabwe between Beitbridge at the border to South Africa and Zimbabwe's second city Bulawayo.
The 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge BBR is a build-operate-transfer project that has shortened the distance between Bulawayo and South Africa to 317 km. Prior to its inauguration, rail service between SA and Zimbabwe took a route about 200 km longer through Botswana. The shorter line has been used primarily for freight transportation.
The BBR was inaugurated on July 15, 1999. After 30 years of service the BBR will be handed over to the National Railways of Zimbabwe at no cost. It had a profound impact on the profitability of Botswana Railways that saw its Zimbabwe-related freight volume drop by 90,000 to 10,000 tons.[1]