The Botswana Railways BR has 888 kilometres of track, Cape gauge 1067 mm.The main line runs through the south-eastern region of Botswana from Mahikeng in South Africa through Lobatse, Gaborone, Mahalapye, Palapye and Francistown to Plumtree in Zimbabwe. In addition there are three branch lines. There are four kinds of locomotives in the country, all heavy diesels. This one is a General Electric U15C. It's a diesel-electric machine with a power rating of 2000 hp. These machines date back to 1990.
Picture from Gaborone 9.11.2018 by Ville Tenhunen.

Another view of the same GE U15C locomotive.
Picture from Gaborone 9.11.2018 by Ville Tenhunen.

Still the same GE U15C locomotive as above.
Picture from Gaborone 9.11.2018 by Ville Tenhunen.

Gaborone station is the busiest hub of railroad traffic in the country. Passenger traffic was completely halted for several years, but since 2015 Botswana Rail got new passenger coaches and now there is one long distance night train pair right through the whole country. It's called the BR Express. In addition to this over 600 km long line there is also a commuter service from Lobatse to Gaborone, bringing in people from Lobatse, Otse and Ramotswa stations to Gaborone in the early morning and back from Gaborone in the evening. This commuter train can be seen left in this picture, waiting at the Gaborone station.
Picture from Gaborone 9.11.2018 by Ville Tenhunen.

The locomotive BD213 which was waiting in front of the Lobatse to Gaborone commuter train is a General Motors GT22LC-2 diesel. Botswana Railways has 20 of them and they are from the year 1986. They were built 1981 to 1996 and they are in use in six other African countries besides Botswana. This is the most common locomotive type in the country.
Picture from Gaborone 9.11.2018 by Ville Tenhunen.

Another view of the Gaborone station. The locomotive on the left, BD550 is brand new. It is of the type General Motors Electromotive Division GT42AC. Botswana Railways got the first ones of these in 2017 and judging by its road number, this one was probably the very first one. 15 to 18 machines were ordered. The machine is 20,3 metres long and weighs 120 tonnes. It has an EMD diesel engine of the type 12-710G3B-ES generating a power rating of 2237 kW. It can carry 4000 litres of diesel fuel to be able to cover long distances.
Picture from Gaborone 9.11.2018 by Ville Tenhunen.

Another view of the Gaborone station area. Even the new, large shopping mall of the right was built by Botswana Railways. Note also how very narrow the Cape gauge 1067 mm tracks look like for large diesel engines.
Picture from Gaborone 9.11.2018 by Ville Tenhunen.

Side view of the brand new General Motors EMD GT42AC, road number BD550.
Picture from Gaborone 9.11.2018 by Ville Tenhunen.

The "BR Express" passenger coaches are new and were taken in use only in 2015 when passenger services were again started in the country. Botswana wants to offer a good quality service in order to get more tourists in the country.
Picture from Gaborone 9.11.2018 by Ville Tenhunen.

The new passenger coaches carry stickers commemorating the 50 years of Botswanan independence. These coaches were ordered in 2014 and delivered during the following three years or so. The coach on the right in this picture is one of Botswana's only three buffet coaches - there is one for every train which operates daily in the country, two for the long distance night trains and this one for the commuter service.
Picture from Gaborone 9.11.2018 by Ville Tenhunen.

This locomotive with the road number BD220 is a bit older. It belongs to the Electromotive Division EMD GT22 series. It is a GT22-LC2 from the year 1986 and it is similar to - but not identical with - the locomotive seen in front of the passenger train shown in the pictures above. But look at the driver's cab's side windows and the large ventilation grilles on top of the roof. They all differ. The explanation is that these are machines that the Botswana Railroads took over from Zimbabwe Railroads and a part of these locomotives were built by EMD and a later batch by GMD, General Motors Diesel in Canada. This is one of the Canadian machines.
Picture from Gaborone 9.11.2018 by Ville Tenhunen.

A view of the surroundings of the Gaborone station area. To be the busiest railroad hub in the country, the whole railroad area is fairly small.
Picture from Gaborone 9.11.2018 by Ville Tenhunen.

The shopping mall side of the station.
Picture from Gaborone 9.11.2018 by Ville Tenhunen.