The Natal Government Railways (NGR) was formed in January 1877 in the Colony of Natal. In 1877, the Natal Government Railways acquired the Natal Railway Company for the sum of £40,000, gaining the line from the Point to Durban and from Durban to Umgeni. This move, inspired in part by the neighbouring Cape Prime Minister John Molteno's 1873 establishment of the Cape Government Railways, was intended to drive the extension of Natal's railways inland, towards the Drakensberg and eventually the Orange Free State. The Natal Government Railways also adopted the Cape gauge. The core line went from Durban to Volksrust, but reached Charlestown (4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the border of the South African Republic) in 1891 and was linked to the Witwatersrand in 1895. Other important lines were the one