This article is about the Transport in Zambia.

Railway

There is a total of 2,157 km (2008) of railway track in Zambia.

Principal lines

Notable Branch lines

  • Maamba Colliery Railway, Choma to Masuka, built to carry coal.
  • The Mulobezi Railway (also known as Zambezi Sawmills Railway) is a narrow gauge line constructed to carry timber from Mulobezi to Livingstone. Has been reported at various times as defunct, currently listed in Railtracker (see 'Railway Network Map' below) but operating status not confirmed.
  • Mulungushi Commuter Line, later Njanji Commuter Line managed by ZRL, operated from 1991 to 1998 in Lusaka from the Chilenje-Libala to George townships (16 km); bids invited by the privatisiation board in September 2005 for re-opening it.
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo DR Congo – yes, Ndola to Sakania then Lubumbashi – 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in), freight only. (For extensions and reconstruction beyond Lubumbashi see the DR Congo article). The current operating status of Chililabombwe-DR Congo link not known.
  • Tanzania Tanzania – yes, from Kapiri Mposhi, border crossing at Nakonde, Zambia, to Dar es Salaam, TAZARA railway, passenger and freight – 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
  • Malawi Malawi – Chipata-Mchinji new link opened to traffic in 2010.
  • Mozambique Mozambique – no direct link, but indirectly to Beira and Maputo via Zimbabwe (no continuous passenger services).
  • Zimbabwe Zimbabwe – yes, from Livingstone via the Victoria Falls Bridge to Bulawayo, freight only.
  • Botswana Botswana – no direct link, indirectly via Zimbabwe (no continuous passenger services).
  • Namibia Namibia – no direct link.
  • Angola Angola – no direct link – but indirectly via DR Congo to Benguela on the Benguela Railway – same gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in), while the railway was inoperable for many years because of the Angolan Civil War, it has been recently reconstructed.

Proposed extensions

2007

on 25 August 2007.[1]

2006

Zambia's North-West Extension – 8 February 2006 – Preparatory work is going forward on Zambia's proposed new north-western extension railway from Chingola to Solwezi, estimated to cost about $US235m. The area has excellent mining potential which cannot be exploited effectively without rail facilities. The route has been surveyed and the implications of compensating land owners are being worked out.[3]

Australian and American interests are examining the project and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) may help with finance. The United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), another prospective source of funding, is also looking at the scheme. Hopes have been expressed that the new line might eventually be extended to Mwinilunga and even to join Angola's Benguela Railway without relying on the DR Congo link, to restore what was until the 1970s Zambia's main route for exporting copper and other metals. In April 2012, according to newspaper reports, the Zambian government "has issued a permit to North-West Railway Company (NWR) for construction of the 554 km railway line from Chingola to Jimbe on the Angolan border".[4] [5]

The Angolan transport ministry plans to build a line branching off the Benguela Railway at Luacano and entering Zambia from Macango,[6] thus avoiding DR Congo territory. The establishment of this direct link was also subject of talks during the visit of an Angolan delegation to Lusaka in May 2012. "The Benguela Railway will improve relations between the two countries as well as transportation of goods. It is encouraging that the railway on the Angolan side will reach the border by next year," said Keith Mukata, Zambian Deputy Minister for Commerce, Trade, and Industry.[7]

Stations

Principal towns served by rail

Existing
• Lusaka – capital • Kabwe• Ndola
• Kafue• Kitwe• Chililabombwe – freight only
• Mazabuka• Kapiri Mposhi• Luanshya – freight only
• Choma• Mpika• Chingola – freight only
• Livingstone• Kasama• Mufulira – freight only
• MulobeziNdola

Roads in Zambia

    Trade corridors

    As a landlocked minerals producer, Trade Corridors are vital to Zambia. In Zambia's case these are road and/or rail routes which cross international borders to ports and which are the subject of international agreements on planning, use and management. They are not separate from the road and rail networks listed above, but are entities superimposed on those networks for strategic economic and trade development. They are:[8]

    1. Southern Corridor: to Durban Port via Johannesburg, South Africa via Zimbabwe (road or rail) or Botswana (road).
    2. Maputo Corridor: As for (1) but rail or road from Johannesburg to Maputo Port, Mozambique.
    3. Walvis Bay Corridor: Road via Livingstone/Sesheke/Katima Mulilo to Walvis Bay Port, Namibia.
    4. Beira Corridor: Road to Harare or rail to Bulawayo, then rail via Mutare to Beira, Mozambique.
    5. Nacala Corridor: road to Lilongwe then rail to Nacala, Mozambique.
    6. Tazara Corridor: road or rail via Kapiri Mposhi to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
    7. Lobito Corridor: rail via DR Congo to Lobito Bay, Angola (not currently operational, depends on Benguala Railway re-opening).

    Corridors 1 to 6 may also be used by southeastern DR Congo though Zambia.

    Water transport

    Although none of the major urban centres are located on usable waterways, Zambia is a relatively well-watered country but is mainly flat, meaning there are many navigable rivers, lakes and channels through swamps, which together reach a large proportion of the rural population. These offer a minimum-maintenance rural transport alternative. In the cases of Bangweulu and Mweru Wantipa in particular, there are permanent and seasonal fishing communities for whom the only access is by boat or canoe.

    Men crossing the Zambezi river, Western Province of Zambia

    Main systems

    Air transport

    Zambia has four international airports, five airstrips and five secondary airfields that serve the domestic and international flights. The main airport is Lusaka Kenneth Kaunda International Airport. Other smaller airports include Livingstone and Mfuew, Ndola along with secondary airfields including Kasama, Kitwe, Chipata, Mongi, Mansa and Solwezi.

    Zambia has an 'open skies' policy since the state-owned national carrier failed. Before its demise, Zambian Airways was the only Zambia-based scheduled carrier. As of 2022, there are several scheduled carriers based in Zambia: Zambia Airways, Proflight Zambia, Royal Zambian Airlines, and Mahogany Air.

    Only six of Zambia's airports see scheduled commercial flights: Chipata Airport, Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airport, Kenneth Kaunda International Airport, Mfuwe Airport, Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport, and Solwezi Airport. Zambia's three international airports offer passenger flights to Dar es Salaam, Johannesburg, Mbombela, Dubai, Harare, Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Lilongwe, Doha, Kigali, Gaborone, and Cape Town.

    Airports – With Paved Runways

    Total: 8
    Over 3,047 m: 1
    2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
    1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
    914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2012)

    Airfields – with unpaved runways

    Total: 80
    2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
    1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
    914 to 1,523 m: 53
    under 914 m: 21 (2012)

    See also

    References

    1. ↑ "Chipata Railway", Railways Africa, Friday, 2 November 2007.
    2. 1 2 Railways Africa – EXTENDING BEYOND CHIPATA
    3. ↑ Enoch Kavindele (31 May 2011). "ZAMBIAN NORTH-WEST RAILWAY". Johannesburg, South Africa: Railways Africa. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
    4. ↑ Maimbolwa Mulikelela (10 April 2012). "Govt okays North-West Railway". Times of Zambia. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
    5. ↑ ZHINHUA (11 April 2012). "New Zambia $1bn railway investors get green light". Nairobi, Kenya: Africa Review. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
    6. ↑ Details of lines to be rehabilitated and newly built at the web site of the Angolan transport ministry Archived 19 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine
    7. ↑ "Angola ready to 'oil' Zambia". Lusaka, Zambia: Times of Zambia. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
    8. ↑ Regional Transport Infrastructure Development in South Africa. JBIC Review No. 2. November 2000.
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