Map of train routes in Southern Africa

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of African train routes

Trains across Botswana

A railway runs from the South African border at Lobatse through capital Gaborone to Francistown and across the border to Bulawayo in Zimbabwe, with onward connections to Victoria Falls or Harare.  Unfortunately, there are currently no cross-border trains to or from South Africa.  This page explains the train travel options.

small bullet point  Useful country information

small bullet point  Bulawayo - Francistown - Gaborone - Lobatse

small bullet point  Train travel to/from South Africa

On other pages

small bullet point  Train travel in Zimbabwe

small bullet point  Train travel in South Africa


Useful country information

Train operator:  

Botswana Railway (BR) - www.botswanarailways.co.bw

 

Time zone:

 

GMT+2 all year.

Dialling code:

 

Dial code +267.

Currency:

 

£1 = 16 Botswanan Pula.  $1 = 13 Pula.  Currency converter

Tourist information:

 

www.gov.bw     Tripadvisor Botswana page

Visas:

 

UK citizens do not need a visa to visit Botswana.   

Page last updated:

8 January 2024


Bulawayo - Francistown - Gaborone - Lobatse

In early 2009, Botswana Railways announced it was to stop all passenger service on the main line across Botswana because of mounting losses.  However, in 2015 they announced that passenger service would be revived, refurbished coaches were procured and an overnight Francistown-Gaborone-Lobatse train service was reinstated on 23 March 2016, see umhambi.blogspot.de/2016/03/botswana-botswana-railways-has-launched.html.  In December 2017 a connecting train was introduced between Francistown in Botswana and Bulawayo in Zimbabwe, connecting into & out of the Lobatse - Gaborone - Franciston train as shown below.

UPDATE 2024:  Passenger trains in Botswana were suspended in 2020 due to the pandemic and remain suspended in 2024.

UPDATE 2024:  The Francistown-Bulawayo train was suspended in 2020 due to the pandemic and remains suspended in 2024.

 Bulawayo Gaborone Lobatse

            

 Lobatse Gaborone Bulawayo

 Km

See note:

*

**

***

See note:

***

**

*

 TRAINS SUSPENDED!! 

Daily

Daily

Mon-Fri

   TRAINS SUSPENDED!! 

Mon-Fri

Daily

Daily

0

 Bulawayo

depart

 14:15

-

-

 Lobatse

depart

05:30

19:50

-

?

 Plumtree

depart

 17:49

-

-

 Gaborone

arrive

06:49

21:00

-

196km

 Francistown

 (change trains)

arrive

 19:45

-

-

depart

-

21:25

-

depart

-

21:00

-

 Mahalapye 

arr/dep

-

00:56

-

?

 Serule 

arr/dep

-

23:00

-

 Palapye 

arr/dep

-

02:50

-

?

 Palapye 

arr/dep

-

00:25

-

 Serule 

arr/dep

-

04:37

-

431km

 Mahalapye 

arr/dep

-

02:06

-

 Francistown

 (change trains)

arrive

-

06:11

-

631km

 Gaborone

arrive

-

05:45

-

arrive

-

-

 07:00

depart

-

07:00

18:00

 Plumtree

arrive

-

-

 09:14

703km

 Lobatse

arrive

-

08:30

19:34

 Bulawayo

arrive

-

-

 12:30

You can check these times at www.botswanarailways.co.bw.

* The Francistown-Bulawayo train has standard class seats only.  It started as a trial on 20 December 2017, running until further notice.

** BR Express. All-air-conditioned 1st class sleepers, business class seats, standard class seats and a buffet car.  The train allegedly has WiFi & TV screens, see news item at www.mmegi.bw/index.php?aid=58774&dir=2016/march/23.  Also see photos of the train at http://umhambi.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/botswana-botswana-railways-has-launched.html.

*** Standard class seats only.

How much does it cost?

Lobatse-Francistown is 102 pula in standard class, 171 pula in business class & 285 pula in first class.

Gaborone-Francistown is 88 pula in standard class, 146 pula in business class & 244 pula in first class.

Francistown-Bulawayo is 70 pula ($7) in standard class.

You can take up to 20Kg luggage in Standard Class, up to 40Kg in Business & First.

How to buy tickets

You can buy at the station or book online through www.botswanarailways.co.bw.  When you book online you get a reference number, you collect tickets from the ticket office before boarding the train.

Travellers reports

Traveller James Beard used the new Francistown to Bulawayo train in late 2017:  "The new service between Bulawayo and Francistown is not the same train as the one that runs between Francistown and Lobatse. It's a connecting service, and when I used it the Francistown to Bulawayo train waited for the train from Lobatse (and so was about an hour late leaving, half of which was made up by not waiting so long at Plumtree). In both directions there were two standard seating carriages and a buffet car, but the buffet car didn't open (I was told there was a delay in getting approval for it to function in Zimbabwe) and we all sat in one carriage, I guess to make it easier for the border formalities.  Again in both directions, freight wagons also formed part of the train.  The fare is 70 Pula (~USD7) and in Bulawayo you can pay in Pula or USD. The Zimbabwean border formalities are done while the train waits at Plumtree (last/first station in Zimbabwe), and the Botswanan formalities done either there or while the train is moving. The train is very comfortable and clean (I guess the carriages are the same type as those used on the Francistown / Lobatse train), but could be improved by not having piped music. There were only 20-25 passengers in each direction and we were probably outnumbered by staff, if you include the border staff and the people who prepare the train in Francistown."

Traveller Richard Walsh tried the new Francistown to Gaborone sleeper train in November 2016:  "I can confirm that the train from Francistown to Gaborone (and Lobatse) is a gem. Absolutely beautiful and very well appointed. We had a first class sleeper coupé, and yes there is a buffet car on board.  We even were given drink and sandwiches...  Probably only for first class, but maybe also business class.  A new station is being built in Francistown.  Train left and arrived to the minute.  Piped music in the corridor was an unwelcome feature."

The Lobatse - Gaborone - Francistown train

Botswana's new blue train

Botswana's new blue train at Gaborone station. Courtesy of Miika Nicholson...

Business class on Botswana train   First class 4-berth sleeper, Botswana

Business class seats. Photos courtesy Miika Nicholson

1st Class 4-berth sleeper.

2-berth 1st class sleeper on Botswana train   Standard class seats, Botswana train

1st class 2-berth sleeper.

Standard class seats.  Photos courtesy Miika Nicholson

Exterior of Botswana's new Blue Train at Gaborone

The Botswana Blue Train at Gaborone.  Courtesy of Miika Nicholson.


International trains to/from Botswana

South Africa to Botswana by train

There are no trains from Botswana to South Africa, the daily train to Mafeking and weekly train to Johannesburg were withdrawn in 1999.  However, you can take a comfortable train between Cape Town and Johannesburg, see the South Africa page for details.  Then there's a daily bus between Jo'burg and Gaborone leaving Johannesburg around 12:00 and arriving Gaborone at 19:30.  In the other direction, the bus leaves Gaborone daily at 06:30, arriving Johannesburg at 13:55.  For times, fares and online booking see www.intercape.co.za.

Zimbabwe to Botswana by train

In 1999, the weekly Johannesburg-Gaborone-Bulawayo train was withdrawn and the daily Mafeking-Gaborone- Bulawayo blue train was cut back in to run purely within Botswana, Francistown-Gaborone-Lobatse.  An international train service from Francistown to Bulawayo then restarted in June 2006, which ceased in late 2016.  But in December 2017 the :Lobatse-Gaborone-Francistown blue train was experimentally extended to and from Bulawayo and continues today, see the section above - or at least, did so until the pandemic.


Hotels in Botswana

Find hotels at Booking.comMy favourite hotel search: www.booking.com

Booking.com is my favourite hotel booking site and I generally use it to book all my hotels in one place.  I've come to trust booking.com's review scores, you won't be disappointed with any hotel that scores 8.0 or more.  Crucially, booking.com usually lets you book with free cancellation, which means you can confirm accommodation risk-free before train booking opens and/or you can hold accommodation while you finalise your itinerary and alter your plans as they evolve - a feature I use all the time when planning a trip.  I never book hotels non-refundably!


Guidebooks

Lonely Planet Southern Africa guidebookTo get the most from a trip to Southern Africa, you'll need a good guidebook - and I think the Lonely Planet guides are about the best ones out there.

Buy Lonely Planet Southern Africa online at Amazon

 

 

 


Travel insurance & other tips

 

Staysure travel insurance

 

Columbus Direct logo

Always take out travel insurance

Never travel overseas without travel insurance from a reliable insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover.  It should also cover cancellation and loss of cash and belongings, up to a sensible limit.  An annual multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip policies even for just 2 or 3 trips a year, I have an annual policy with Staysure.co.uk myself.  Here are some suggested insurers.  Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these links.

UK flag  www.staysure.co.uk offers enhanced Covid-19 protection & gets 4.7 out of 5 on Trustpilot.

UK flag  www.columbusdirect.com is also a well-know brand.

US flag  If you live in the USA try Travel Guard USA.

 

Maya.net logo

Get an eSIM with mobile data package

Don't rely on WiFi, download an eSIM with a mobile data package for the country you're visiting and stay connected.  Most newer mobile phones can download a virtual SIM card so you don't need to buy a physical SIM, including iPhone 11 & later, see device compatibility listMaya.net is a reliable eSIM data retailer with a 4.5 out of 5 Trustpilot rating and a range of packages including unlimited data.

 

Curve card

Curve card

Get a Curve card for foreign travel

Most banks give you a poor exchange rate, then add a foreign transaction fee on top.  A Curve MasterCard means no foreign transaction fees and gives you the mid-market exchange rate, at least up to a certain limit, £500 per month at time of writing.  The money you spend on your Curve card goes straight onto one of your existing debit or credit cards.

How it works:  1. Download the Curve app for iPhone or Android.  2. Enter your details & they'll send you a Curve MasterCard - they send to the UK and most European addresses.  3. Link your existing credit & debit cards to the app, you can link up to two cards with the free version of Curve, I link my normal debit card and my normal credit card.  4. Now use the Curve MasterCard to buy things online or in person or take cash from ATMs, exactly like a normal MasterCard. Curve does the currency conversion and puts the balance in your own currency onto whichever debit or credit card is currently selected in the Curve app.  You can even change your mind about which card it goes onto, within 14 days of the transaction.

I have a Curve Blue card myself, it means I can buy a coffee on a foreign station on a card without being stung by fees and lousy exchange rates, just by tapping the Curve card on their card reader.  The money goes through Curve to my normal debit card and is taken directly from my account (in fact I have the Curve card set up as payment card on Apple Pay on my iPhone, so can double-click my phone, let it do Face ID then tap the reader with the phone - even easier than digging a card out).  I get a little commission if you sign up to Curve, but I recommend it here because I think it's great.  See details, download the app and get a Curve card, they'll give you £5 cashback through that link.

 

Express VPN

Get a VPN for safe browsing.  Why you need a VPN

When you're travelling you often use free WiFi in public places which may not be secure.  A VPN encrypts your connection so it's always secure, even on unsecured WiFi.  It also means you can select the geographic location of the IP address you browse with, to get around geoblocking which a surprising number of websites apply.  See VPNs & why you need one explainedExpressVPN is a best buy with a 4.7 out of 5 Trustpilot ranking which I use myself - I've signed up as an ExpressVPN affiliate, and if you go with expressvpn.com using the links on this page, you should see a special deal, 3 months free with an annual subscription.  I get a small commission to help support this site.

 

Anker Powerrbank

Carry an Anker powerbank

Tickets, reservations, vaccination records and Interrail or Eurail passes are often held digitally on your mobile phone, so it's vital to keep it charged.  I always carry an Anker powerbank which can recharge my phone several times over if I can't get to a power outlet.  Buy from Amazon.co.uk or from Buy from Amazon.com.

 


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