The history of rail transport in Namibia began with a small mining rail line at Cape Cross in 1895. The first major railway project was started in 1897 when the German Colonial Authority built the 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) gauge Staatsbahn (State Railway) from Swakopmund to Windhoek. By 1902 the line was completed. Parallel to this government initiative, the Otavi Mining and Railway Company (O.M.E.G.) was established. It built another 600 mm (1 ft 11+5⁄8 in) gauge line, the Otavibahn, from Swakopmund to Tsumeb via Otavi between 1903 and 1906, and a branch from Otavi to Grootfontein in 1907/08.