Rail transport in Zambia is primarily provided by two systems:
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TAZARA Railway
The Tazara Railway, also called the Uhuru Railway or the Tanzam Railway, is a railway in East Africa linking the port of Dar es Salaam in east Tanzania with the town of Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia's Central Province. The single-track railway is ...
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Zambia Railways Limited (sub-systems:
Cape to Cairo Railway
The Cape to Cairo Railway was an unfinished project to create a railway line crossing Africa from south to north. It would have been the largest and most important railway of that continent. It was planned as a link between Cape Town in Sout ...
and
Sena railway
Sena railway, also called Shire Highlands railway, Dondo-Malawi railway and North-South Malawi railway, is a railway that connects Dondo, Mozambique, to Chipata, in Zambia. It is 1000 km long, in a 1067 mm gauge.[Mulobezi Railway
The Mulobezi Railway (once known as the Zambezi Sawmills Railway) was constructed to carry timber from Mulobezi to Livingstone in the Southern Province of Zambia, when the country was Northern Rhodesia. The line uses the narrow gauge, also ...]
; as of early 2012, it was still in operation, but in poor repair.
Railway links with adjacent countries
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Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
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Ndola
Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia and third in terms of size and population, with a population of 475,194 (''2010 census provisional''), after the capital, Lusaka, and Kitwe, and the second largest in terms of infrastructure development aft ...
to
Sakania Sakania is a town in Haut-Katanga Province, in the Congo Pedicle, 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.
Between 1935 and 1939 i ...
then Lubumbashi - , freight only. (For extensions and reconstruction beyond Lubumbashi see the
DR Congo article). The current operating status of Chililabombwe-DR Congo link not known.
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Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
- from
Kapiri Mposhi
Kapiri Mposhi is a Zambian town, seat of the Kapiri Mposhi District, Central Province. Located north of Lusaka, it stands on the Great North Road and is significant for the railway connection between Zambia Railways line from Kitwe to Lusaka an ...
, border crossing at Nakonde, Zambia, to Dar es Salaam, TAZARA railway, passenger and freight -
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Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...
-
Chipata-
Mchinji 2010 opening
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Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
- no direct link, but indirectly to Nacala, Beira (via Malawi) and Maputo (via Zimbabwe, no continuous passenger services).
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Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
- from Livingstone via the
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 forms the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, the bridge links the two countries and has border post ...
to
Bulawayo
Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council ...
, freight only.
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Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalaha ...
- no direct link, indirectly via Zimbabwe (no continuous passenger services). A
direct link is under construction and expected to be open in 2019.
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Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
- no direct link.
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Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
- no direct link - but indirectly via DR Congo to Benguela on the
Benguela Railway - same gauge , but the Benguela Railway has not operated since the 1970s. Reconstruction of the Benguela railway is announced to be completed by the end of 2012; it is already operational from the coast up to
Huambo
Huambo, formerly Nova Lisboa (English: ''New Lisbon''), is the third-most populous city in Angola, after the capital city Luanda and Lubango, with a population of 595,304 in the city and a population of 713,134 in the municipality of Huambo (Cens ...
. The Angolan transport ministry plans to build a line branching off the Benguela Railway at
Luacano
Luacano is a town and municipality in Moxico Province, Angola. The municipality had a population of 20,755 in 2014.
The Luacano River (''Rio Luacano'') flows past the town to the west before entering the Kasai River, which forms the border between ...
and entering Zambia from
Macango
See also
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East African Railway Master Plan
The East African Railway Master Plan is a proposal for rejuvenating the railways serving Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda and adding railways to serve Rwanda and Burundi. The objective is to further the economic development of eastern Africa by increa ...
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Economy of Zambia
Zambia is a developing country and it achieved middle-income status in 2011. Through the first decade of the 21st century, the economy of Zambia was one of the fastest growing economies in Africa and its capital, Lusaka the fastest growing city i ...
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Railways in Zambia
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Lobito–Dar es Salaam Railway
References
Notes
Further reading
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External links
{{Zambia-stub