In the Transvaal the most important projected lines are: A line from Fourteen Streams to Klerksdorp, providing an alternative route from the Cape Ports to the Rand. A line from Krugersdorp to Rustenburg and thence probably to Zeerust and Mafeking, opening up a valuable agricultural country. A line from Springs to Machadodorp or Ermelo, through the best coal and iron districts of the Transvaal, and providing an alternative route from Delagoa Bay to the Rand. This line would greatly relieve the congestion which exists after the high veldt is gained on the present eastern line, owing to the coal traffic and the over-sea imports having to be carried over a single line of railway. A line from Pietersburg to Leydsdorp and thence probably connecting with the Selati railway at its present terminus. There is a private company formed to build a line from Machadodorp to Ermelo, and the Government is constructing a coal line for the mines along the south of the Rand, and another alternative line from Johannesburg to Vereeniging.
In Natal it is a question of doubling the present main line or of constructing another single line of railway from Greytown to the Transvaal. The first plan would be cheaper, and would give more immediate help to Natal in the competition for Transvaal traffic, while the alternative Greytown route would open up new country to railway influence, and materially add to the prosperity of the agricultural population of that section of the colony. Natal is also about to construct a line from Maritzburg to Riverside on the Cape-Natal frontier. The Cape being under promise to connect this point with their eastern system, and thus provide direct railway communication with Durban and Cape Town.
In Rhodesia the line connecting Bulawayo and Salisbury is approaching completion.[13] It is possible that Gwelo, a town on the railway, will be the junction or next starting-point of the “Cape to Cairo” railway, or it may be that the route by another new line from Bulawayo to the Wankie coalfields near the Zambesi may be chosen instead. A line is in course of construction from Bulawayo to the Gwanda goldfields, and a line is proposed from Salisbury north to Lo Maghonda. Altogether over 2000 miles of new railway are projected in South Africa. In the Transvaal the new lines proposed will have a length of over 800 miles, and at least 500 miles may be considered as lines whose construction is a matter of urgent necessity.
This forecast of railway development in the immediate future in South Africa means the raising and spending of another £16,000,000, £8000 per mile being about the lowest figure that can be reckoned on to build the lines and provide rolling stock. Transvaal expenditure for new railways may be estimated for the period of the next three years at not less than £6,000,000. When built, however, these railways will be sound properties, thoroughly sure as to their dividend or interest-earning capacity. Lord Milner referred in a recent speech to what he called the governmental plant which he said was required before private enterprise could get to work on making the country productive. Chief among the governmental plant so referred to are railways, but alongside of the recognition of the necessity of railways it is to be hoped that governmental recognition will also be given to the fact that to be of real use the railways must be run at cheap rates, otherwise the looked-for benefit will never come.
As regards over-sea traffic, it is hoped that rates may be brought down by encouraging competition between the various railways from the coast, and the Transvaal Government has a powerful lever in its eastern line. The distance from Delagoa Bay to the Rand is only 395 miles, of which only 56 belong to the Portuguese.[14] From Durban the distance is 483 miles; from Port Elizabeth, 785 miles, and from Cape Town, 1000 miles. The Transvaal Government has the whip in hand, and it is hoped that it will use it so that all South Africa will be brought into line on the question of moderate freight and passenger rates. At present goods are pouring into the Transvaal at the rate of 21,000 tons per week, and in addition there are 8000 tons being brought up weekly for the military, but if rates are not lowered, this great railway activity will prove only transient, because it is certain that at present the internal industries are making no progress, and consequently trade must fall off.
Map of the Cape Government Railways, Based on the Map Accompanying the General Manager’s Report
(Scale = 120 English miles to an inch)
In conclusion, a word may be said of the important part played by South African railways in the late war. A German strategist predicted that with the existing railway systems of South Africa it would be impossible to feed an army of 250,000 men in the interior of the country. Yet it was actually done, and not for a brief period only, but for nearly three years. Besides bringing the food-stuff for this host, and for the civil population besides, the railways transported guns, ammunition, horses and men up and down, back and forward as the commander-in-chief required. The magnitude of this work can be imagined when it is stated that no less than 126 trains were required for the final concentration against Delarey at Klerksdorp. The working of the railways during the war reflects the greatest credit on the managers and employées of all South African railways. It was impossible to tell when a train would run through a band of snipers, one or more of its occupants paying the penalty of death, or when the engine might be hoisted by a hidden charge of dynamite, and the machine and its drivers turned to wreckage. During the war the railway service required qualities of endurance and courage equal to those possessed by the bravest soldier in the field.