Lusaka Railway
The Importance of Zambia's Railway System
Next issue - Zambia's Trading Partners >>
When you arrive at the central railway station in Lusaka and see the containers on the trains bound for Cape Town in South Africa and Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania you realise the significance of Zambia's landlocked location. Road, rail transport and air transport are the only way goods and services can be imported and exported into and out of the country. Exporting and importing merchandise involves long distances to and from the nearest coastal port.
The table below shows the isolation of Zambia.
| By Rail from Lusaka to | Distance (km) |
|---|---|
| Cape Town | 3,104 |
| Beira | 1,768 |
| Dar-es-Salaam | 2,010 |
| East London | 2,871 |
| Port Elizabeth | 2,847 |
In addition the railways provide a considerable amount of inter-country regional traffic. The Zambia Railway has a total track length, all single track, of 1,273km, of which 848 is main line. The Zambian Railway links with the Zimbabwe network at Livingstone and onward to the ports of South Africa and Mozambique, the Tanzania-Zambia railway (TANZARA) at Kapira Mposhi and on to Dar Es Salaam, and the Democratic Republic of Congo at Sakania.
As the table below shows the total amount of rail freight has fallen between 1975 and 1998.
| 1975 | 1988 | 1998 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rail freight | 6m tons | 4.5m tons | 1.4m tons |
The decline in rail freight has mirrored the decline in Zambian exports. The railway, like many railway parastatals in LDCs, is inefficient, poorly maintained, prone to derailment and overstaffed. The supply side policy adopted by the government of President Chiluba of liberalising the transport sector has led to the growth in the trucking sector and road haulage. Increasing competition is exposing the weaknesses of the railway sector. However, the road system is not able to cope with this extra traffic and is deteriorating. The government recognises the need for considerable investment and overhaul of the railways. It has approached the World Bank for funds to restructure the railway.
Without an effective transport infrastructure trade, growth and development are severely restricted.
Next issue - Zambia's Trading Partners >>
Related Glossary Items:
Investment
Parastatals
Supply Side Policies
World Bank
Related Issues:
Zambian Railway Restructuring Project
Related Theories:
The World Bank
The Arguments For and Against Privatisation
Supply Side Approaches
