Lack of delivery forces Zambians to abandon rail

IN A front page opinion piece
published on July 2, 2008, the Times
of Zambia reported: “Gone are the
days when the railway network was
the most reliable mode of transport
in Zambia.
“It was so reliable and cheap that
the rail line was Zambia’s favourite
mode of transport, offloading goods
and passengers in remote areas where
roads were inaccessible.
“The failure by RSZ (Railway
Systems of Zambia – the company
that holds the concession) to provide
safety and reliability has forced many
Zambians to abandon rail transport
in preference for the faster and more
reliable road transport.”
These sentiments are echoed by
all the freight forwarders FTW spoke
to in Zambia. While some of them
do use rail from South Africa and
Tanzania, freight is mostly transhipped
to trucks at the Zambian border
as the rail infrastructure within the
country is so unreliable. Unfortunately,
the ever-increasing use of roadfreight
is also taking its toll on road surfaces
which will soon require some major
investment to fix and maintain.
As copper production for 2008
is estimated to grow by 37%,
the demand for trucks will grow
exponentially. Many of the people
involved in the Zambian freight
industry believe that it will not be
physically possible to supply enough
trucks to provide for this demand. As
it is estimated that one trainload can
do the job of 20 trucks at a much
cheaper price, it is therefore crucial for
the entire rail system to be overhauled
as soon as possible.
Under the concession, RSZ was
supposed to re-lay the railway
line linking the Copperbelt, Lusaka
and the Southern province, and to
acquire modern locomotives and
wagons for both passengers and
goods. As this has not happened,
the newspaper and many Zambian
citizens are demanding a review of
the relationship between the Zambian
government and RSZ.