Martin Rushmere
ZIMBABWE'S RAIL system is now in danger of physical as well as financial collapse. Illegal gold panners have tunnelled under a section of the main line between Bulawayo and Harare.
Police say a trench 6.5 metres deep has been dug, 15 km outside the midlands town of Kwekwe. It is amazing that there has been no accident, a railway official said, as the tunnel is almost through to the other side. At this rate they will have gone right through within another two days.
Financial woes continue to beset the loss-making railway authority. It estimates that R40 million has been lost so far through lost traffic due to derailments, of which there are about three a month.
Repairs to the track and rolling stock are estimated to have cost another R19 million.
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