History of rail transport in Zambia
Encyclopedia
The history of rail transport in Zambia began at the start of the twentieth century.
-administered protectorate of Northern Rhodesia
(now Zambia) was driven primarily by Cecil Rhodes, who had a vision of a Cape-Cairo railway
. However, the economic spur was to access the mines of Central Africa. In 1899, the Rhodesian Railways were established. The company built and ran the railways of Northern Rhodesia and Southern Rhodesia
as an integrated operation, and was one of the largest employers and enterprises in both countries.
Track construction in Northern Rhodesia was mostly from south to north, and the lines were built in Cape gauge
. The railway arrived in the future Zambia early in 1905, when the 150 km (93 mi) long Livingstone–Kalomo line was built in advance of completion in September of that year of the Victoria Falls Bridge
from the then Southern Rhodesia
to Livingstone
. The first wagons on the line were hauled by oxen, then a single locomotive was conveyed in pieces by cableway across the gorge where the bridge was being built to start up operations to Kalomo in advance of the main line connection.
Another major bridge was required to cross the Kafue River
and the 427 m (1,401 ft) long Kafue Railway Bridge
, the longest on the Rhodesian Railways or Zambian Railways network, was completed in 1906.
The line reached Broken Hill (now Kabwe
) in 1906 and Ndola
in the Copperbelt in 1909 (connecting to Sakania
in the Belgian Congo
, and thus the Congolese railway network), some 20 years before the first large-scale copper mines opened there. In 1916, the Kalomo
-Broken Hill section was opened by Mashonaland Railways. In 1929, the Benguela Railway was completed, giving access to the Atlantic
port of Benguela
.
In Zambia more lines were built. In the Copperbelt, a connection from Ndola
to Chingola
via Kitwe
was opened approximately parallel to the line in the Belgian Congo. In 1923 to 1924, the Zambezi Sawmills Railway - later Mulobezi Railway
- was built as a private railway for the extraction of teak
from Mulobezi
and Kataba
to its north. It linked with several branch lines, and also operated passenger services as far as Kataba. A line from Choma
to Masuku was also built in the southwest of the country and three short branch lines in the Copperbelt, leading to Chililabombwe
, Mufulira
and Luanshya
.
Until the mid-1960s, sleeper trains went from Ndola via Livingstone to Bulawayo
in what was then Southern Rhodesia.
. Traffic between Zambia and Southern Rhodesia - which was called Rhodesia until 1979 - was suspended until the foundation of the state of Zimbabwe
in 1980.
. As Great Britain had not shown any interest in the proposal, the People's Republic of China
joined in. The PRC government sponsored construction of the railway specifically to eliminate Zambia's economic dependence on Rhodesia and South Africa. The contractual foundations were closed in 1967, and one year later, the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA) was established, as a condominial railway owned by Tanzania and Zambia.
The TAZARA was built in Cape gauge, which was common in southern Africa, but new to Tanzania. The line was handed over to the company as it was completed in sections in 1973 and 1974.
The TAZARA has been a major economic conduit in the region. However, it has never been profitable and more recently it has suffered from competition from road transport (such as the Trans–Caprivi Highway and Walvis Bay Corridor to Namibia
) and the re-orientation of Zambia's economic links towards South Africa after the end of apartheid. As of October 2008, a Tanzanian newspaper described the TAZARA's condition as being "on the verge of collapse due to financial crisis", with the operator being three months late on paying worker's wages and most of its 12 locomotives being out of service. At the beginning of 2010 the Chinese government gave the financially crippled operator a US$39 million interest-free loan to revive its operations.
Northern Rhodesia
Railway construction in the then British South Africa CompanyBritish South Africa Company
The British South Africa Company was established by Cecil Rhodes through the amalgamation of the Central Search Association and the Exploring Company Ltd., receiving a royal charter in 1889...
-administered protectorate of Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
(now Zambia) was driven primarily by Cecil Rhodes, who had a vision of a Cape-Cairo railway
Cape-Cairo railway
The Cape to Cairo Railway is an uncompleted project to cross Africa from south to north by rail. This plan was initiated at the end of the 18th century, during the time of colonial rule, largely under the vision of Cecil Rhodes, in the attempt to connect adjacent African possessions of the British...
. However, the economic spur was to access the mines of Central Africa. In 1899, the Rhodesian Railways were established. The company built and ran the railways of Northern Rhodesia and Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
as an integrated operation, and was one of the largest employers and enterprises in both countries.
Track construction in Northern Rhodesia was mostly from south to north, and the lines were built in Cape gauge
Cape gauge
Cape gauge is a track gauge of between the inside of the rail heads and is classified as narrow gauge. It has installations of around .The gauge was first used by Norwegian engineer Carl Abraham Pihl and the first line was opened in 1862.- Nomenclature :...
. The railway arrived in the future Zambia early in 1905, when the 150 km (93 mi) long Livingstone–Kalomo line was built in advance of completion in September of that year of the Victoria Falls Bridge
Victoria Falls Bridge
The Victoria Falls Bridge crosses the Zambezi River just below the Victoria Falls and is built over the Second Gorge of the falls. As the river is the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, the bridge links the two countries and has border posts on the approaches to both ends, at the towns of Victoria...
from the then Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia
Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...
to Livingstone
Livingstone, Zambia
Livingstone or Maramba is a historic colonial city and present capital of the Southern Province of Zambia, a tourism centre for the Victoria Falls lying north of the Zambezi River, and a border town with road and rail connections to Zimbabwe on the other side of the Falls...
. The first wagons on the line were hauled by oxen, then a single locomotive was conveyed in pieces by cableway across the gorge where the bridge was being built to start up operations to Kalomo in advance of the main line connection.
Another major bridge was required to cross the Kafue River
Kafue River
The Kafue River sustains one of the world's great wildlife environments. It is a major tributary of the Zambezi, and of Zambia's principal rivers, it is the most central and the most urban, and the longest and largest lying wholly within Zambia....
and the 427 m (1,401 ft) long Kafue Railway Bridge
Kafue Railway Bridge
The Kafue Railway Bridge was built to carry the Livingstone to Lusaka railway line in what is now Zambia over the Kafue River in 1906. It is a steel girder truss bridge of 13 spans each of supported on concrete piers...
, the longest on the Rhodesian Railways or Zambian Railways network, was completed in 1906.
The line reached Broken Hill (now Kabwe
Kabwe
Kabwe is the capital of the Zambian Central Province with a population estimated at 210,000. Formerly named Broken Hill, it was founded when the Broken Hill lead and zinc deposits were discovered in 1902. Kabwe also has a claim to being the birthplace of Zambian politics...
) in 1906 and Ndola
Ndola
Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia, with a population of 495,000 . It is the industrial, commercial, on the Copperbelt, Zambia's copper-mining region, and capital of Copperbelt Province. It is also the commercial capital city of Zambia and has one of the three international airports, others...
in the Copperbelt in 1909 (connecting to Sakania
Sakania
Sakania is a town in Haut-Katanga District, in the far south of the Democratic Republic of Congo, near the border with Zambia.It is located at an elevation of 1278m asl ,therefore it has a cool climate....
in the Belgian Congo
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
, and thus the Congolese railway network), some 20 years before the first large-scale copper mines opened there. In 1916, the Kalomo
Kalomo
Kalomo is a town in southern Zambia, lying north east of Livingstone, on the main road and railway line to Lusaka. It is home to the Batonga people. It was the first administrative centre of Northern Rhodesia, serving until the capital city was established at Livingstone in 1911...
-Broken Hill section was opened by Mashonaland Railways. In 1929, the Benguela Railway was completed, giving access to the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
port of Benguela
Benguela
Benguela is a city in western Angola, south of Luanda, and capital of Benguela Province. It lies on a bay of the same name, in 12° 33’ S., 13° 25’ E...
.
In Zambia more lines were built. In the Copperbelt, a connection from Ndola
Ndola
Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia, with a population of 495,000 . It is the industrial, commercial, on the Copperbelt, Zambia's copper-mining region, and capital of Copperbelt Province. It is also the commercial capital city of Zambia and has one of the three international airports, others...
to Chingola
Chingola
Chingola is a city in Zambia's Copperbelt Province, the country's copper-mining region, with a population of 157,340 . It is the home of Nchanga Copper Mine, a deep-shaft high-grade content copper mining operation, which subsequently led to the development of two open pit operations, Chingola...
via Kitwe
Kitwe
Kitwe is the second largest city in terms of size and population in Zambia. With a population of 547,700 Kitwe is one of the most developed commercial and industrial areas in the nation, alongside Ndola and Lusaka...
was opened approximately parallel to the line in the Belgian Congo. In 1923 to 1924, the Zambezi Sawmills Railway - later Mulobezi Railway
Mulobezi Railway
The Mulobezi Railway was constructed to carry timber from Mulobezi to Livingstone in the Southern Province of Zambia, when the country was Northern Rhodesia...
- was built as a private railway for the extraction of teak
Teak
Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the...
from Mulobezi
Mulobezi
Mulobezi is a small town in the Southern Province of Zambia, and the centre of its timber industry. Timber extends into Southern Province with which the town is economically linked....
and Kataba
Kataba
Kataba is a town located in the Western Province of Zambia. Its original name was Kataba Masamba. It is in the Sesheke district....
to its north. It linked with several branch lines, and also operated passenger services as far as Kataba. A line from Choma
Choma
Choma is a market town in the Southern Province of Zambia, lying on the main road and railway from Lusaka to Livingstone. It is home to a small museum dedicated to the cultural heritage of the Tonga people of southern Zambia. The population of Choma is said to be about 40,000 people and it...
to Masuku was also built in the southwest of the country and three short branch lines in the Copperbelt, leading to Chililabombwe
Chililabombwe
Chililabombwe is a city located in Zambia's Copperbelt Province. The name means 'place of the croaking frog'.The main economic activity is the mining of copper....
, Mufulira
Mufulira
Mufulira is a town in the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. It grew up in the 1930s around the site of the Mufulira Copper Mine on its north-western edge...
and Luanshya
Luanshya
Luanshya is a town in Zambia, in the Copperbelt Province near Ndola. It has a population of 117,579 .Luanshya was founded in the early part of the 20th century after a prospector/explorer, William Collier, shot and killed a Roan Antelope on the banks of the Luanshya River, discovering a copper...
.
Until the mid-1960s, sleeper trains went from Ndola via Livingstone to Bulawayo
Bulawayo
Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital Harare, with an estimated population in 2010 of 2,000,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km southwest of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland...
in what was then Southern Rhodesia.
Zambia
In 1964, Northern Rhodesia became independent under the name Zambia. The railway company was divided, and the part belonging to Zambia was renamed Zambia RailwaysZambia Railways
Zambia Railways is the national railway of Zambia, one of the two major railroad organizations in Zambia, which may also be referred to as Railway Systems of Zambia...
. Traffic between Zambia and Southern Rhodesia - which was called Rhodesia until 1979 - was suspended until the foundation of the state of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
in 1980.
TAZARA Railway
From 1964, discussions took place about a proposed railway line between Tanzania and ZambiaZambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
. As Great Britain had not shown any interest in the proposal, the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
joined in. The PRC government sponsored construction of the railway specifically to eliminate Zambia's economic dependence on Rhodesia and South Africa. The contractual foundations were closed in 1967, and one year later, the Tanzania-Zambia Railway (TAZARA) was established, as a condominial railway owned by Tanzania and Zambia.
The TAZARA was built in Cape gauge, which was common in southern Africa, but new to Tanzania. The line was handed over to the company as it was completed in sections in 1973 and 1974.
The TAZARA has been a major economic conduit in the region. However, it has never been profitable and more recently it has suffered from competition from road transport (such as the Trans–Caprivi Highway and Walvis Bay Corridor to Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
) and the re-orientation of Zambia's economic links towards South Africa after the end of apartheid. As of October 2008, a Tanzanian newspaper described the TAZARA's condition as being "on the verge of collapse due to financial crisis", with the operator being three months late on paying worker's wages and most of its 12 locomotives being out of service. At the beginning of 2010 the Chinese government gave the financially crippled operator a US$39 million interest-free loan to revive its operations.
See also
- History of ZambiaHistory of ZambiaThis article deals with the history of the country now called Zambia from prehistoric times to the present.- Early history :The original inhabitants of modern day Zambia, were called San), who were hunters and gatherers who lived a nomadic life, with stone age technology...
- Rail transport in ZambiaRail transport in ZambiaRail transport in Zambia is primarily provided by two companies:* TAZARA Railway* Zambia Railways Limited-Railway links with adjacent countries: DR Congo - yes, Ndola to Sakania then Lubumbashi - , freight only. . The current operating status of Chililabombwe-DR Congo link not known...
- Railway Museum (Zambia)Railway Museum (Zambia)The Railway Museum is a museum in Livingstone, Zambia dedicated to preserving Zambia's railway heritage.-References:*...