[2] On the Mozambican stretch, between Beira and Machipanda, the managing company is Mozambique Ports and Railways (CFM);[1] on the Zimbabwean stretch, between the cities of Mutare, Harare, Gweru and Bulawayo, the administration is done by the company National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ).

[1] Originally, the Beira–Bulawayo railway was to establish a rail connection between Salisbury and Beira, according to the understanding celebrated in the 1870s between Portuguese East Africa and the Company rule in Rhodesia.

[4] However, due to financial difficulties with the Portuguese partners, the construction of the first stretch of the Beira–Bulawayo railway started only in 1892; the infrastructure, in narrow gauge of 610 mm, connected, already on 4 February 1898, Beira to the border city Umtali, in Southern Rhodesia (later Rhodesia; now Zimbabwe), covering 357 kilometres.

[6] The 610 mm narrow gauge locomotives were subsequently purchased from the South African Railways and are designated "SAR class NG6".

[7] Subsequently the stretch between Machipanda and Beira was adapted to the Rhodesian (now Zimbabwean) standard, being fully converted to 1,067 mm, eliminating the need for the conversion of Umtali-Machipanda.