Rail transport in Fiji

Rail transport in Fiji moves cut sugar cane to crushing mills. Also, there used to be two horse-drawn street tramway systems, some other passenger systems, an underground mine system, and some tramways on construction projects. There are multiple other modes of transport in FIji.

Tramways have been used to transport sugar cane from the fields to the mill since 1876, when a 2.4 km (1.5 mi) horse tramway was constructed on the Selia Levu estate, on the island of Taveuni. The Holmhurst Mill on Tavenui had tramways from 1882 of 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge. A tramway was also built on Mago Island.

Most cane tramways were of 2 ft (610 mm) gauge, on the main islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. Steam engines were used, later replaced with diesel engines. Most of the mills and tramways were built by the Colonial Sugar Refining Company (CSR), an Australian-owned company, and were transferred to the Fiji Sugar Corporation in 1973, when CSR withdrew from Fiji.

Many lines were on road reserve provided by the government; combined road-rail bridges were common. Some passenger services were provided, such as the famous Free Train from 1915, with one or two trains a week from Lautoka to Kavanagasau and Rarawai on the Rarawai-Kavanagasau Light Railway.

In 1988, according to Cane Train, there were 645 km (401 mi) of permanent cane railway in Fiji, for the Lautoka and Rrawai, and Penang mills on Viti Levu, and the Labasa, on Vanua Levu.

Loco no 22 crossing Sigatoka bridge with a long train of empty wagons, near the end of the South Coast line.

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