Netherlands-South African Railway Company

The railway network of the Transvaal in 1899 at the outbreak of the Second Boer War

The Netherlands-South African Railway Company (Nederlandsche-Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoorwegmaatschappij) or NZASM was established in August 1884 in the Transvaal, and funded by Dutch, German and Transvaal capitalists.[1] The license was conditional on the route from Delagoa Bay to Pretoria being complete before the end of 1894. The line, surveyed by British engineer Thomas Hall, opened on 2 November 1894. The line was created in an attempt to break the dependence of the South African Republic on the British colonies to the south. By building a railway eastwards into Portuguese Mozambique the settlers would have a trade route that did not run through British territory.

It adopted the 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) of the neighbouring Cape Government Railways.

After the Second Boer War it was taken over by Central South African Railways.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Davis, Clarence; Wilburn Kenneth (1991). Railway Imperialism. New York: Greenwood Press. pp. 30–33. ISBN 0-313-25966-6.

External links

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