Zambia’s railways have fallen on hard times. Having transported virtually all Zambia’s international trade up to the 1970s, today less than 3.3 percent is transported by rail.
The Railways Workers Union of Zambia RWUZ says Government should put in more effort and ensure that revamping of the railway sector in Zambia is actualized. RWUZ said, Government need to urgently recapitalize the sector to save a lot of money in terms of road infrastructure because by nature the rail company is meant to carry the heavy cargo and if the recapitalization is done and the Government take this as a priority the country shall develop economically and the rail sector shall really contribute to the GDP of this country because it will take a lot of load and cargo from the roads which are being pounded by the road trucks.
In an interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT – RWUZ Secretary General Simon Ngambi said it is evident that the railway sector has continued to underperform in a very bad way as it remains the least mode of transport among the effective modes when the reasons are obvious and clear.
According to Government official statistics the total value of Imports via all modes of transport for the period January to December 2022 was K152.6 billion. The road transport was the highest at K89.4 billion representing 58.6 percent share, followed by Air transport at K11.9 billion (7.8 percent) while Rail transport was third at K 2.1 billion accounting for 1.4 percent of the total import bill. Other modes of transport accounted for K49.2 billion (32.3 percent).
In terms of volumes, a total of 5.9 million Mt of imports was recorded for the period January to December 2022, of which Road transport accounted for 3.5 million Mt, representing the highest share at 59.2 percent, followed by Rail transport which accounted for 218.4 thousand Mt, representing a share of 3.7 percent. Air Transport was third accounting for 9.7 thousand Mt (0.2 percent), while other modes accounted for 2.2 million Mt (36.9 percent.
Ngambi said the current railway infrastructure in the country is dilapidated and even the type of equipment the rail sector is using particularly the Zambia railways is almost obsolete which has contributed to the underperforming of the sector in the country.
He said the union has been appealing to Government on several fora that the company need urgent recapitalization if it is to play a rightful role in the economy of this country as the logistic company.
Ngambi said without the recapitalization which is needed like yesterday it will be very difficult for the sector to perform their function in terms of the rail sector in the country.
“We are on record of saying the recapitalization and modernizing of the Zambia railways will have a lot of ripple effects as the benefits will be so immense to this country. The cost of doing business it will be low in terms of transport and generate a lot of employment in the sense that the rail sector is labor intensive when it comes to the rehabilitation of this important sector.”
He explained that 1 modernized locomotive called GT 36 has the capacity of carrying about 35 wagons of loaded cargo of coal or copper which may be equivalent to 40 trucks on the roads.
“So such kind of capacity if we are to capacitate Zambia Railways to that extent most of the cargo will go onto the rail in a bulk form which will be far much cheaper than using 40 trucks on the road.”
He said recapitalizing the sector shall as well mitigate some of the costs which is associated with high prices of fuel because by nature railways carry bulk cargo and is cheaper when compared to other effective modes of transport.
Meanwhile, the total value of exports via all modes of transport for the period January to December 2022 was K197.1 billion. Road transport accounted for the highest at K98.7 billion representing 50.1 percent share. Rail transport was second at K3.8 billion (1.9 percent) and Air transport was third accounting for K2.8 billion (1.4 percent). Other modes of transport accounted for K91.7 billion (46.5 percent).
In terms of volume, the total volume of exports for the period January to December 2022 was 9.5 million Mt, of which Road transport accounted for 5.5 million Mt, representing 57.9 percent. Rail transport accounted for 49.8 thousand Mt, representing 0.5 percent, Air transport accounted for 4.2 thousand Mt (0.04 percent), while other modes accounted for 3.9 million Mt (41.5 percent).
RWUZ Secretary General remarked that in all developed countries the rail sector is playing a very imperative role in terms of transport and logistics and we have seen how such countries are actually benefiting from that particular transport sector.
“That is the only way we are going to mitigate some of the issues the country is facing by putting a lot of effort in revamping the railway sector. My appeal is to implore government to quickly address this issue although the political will is there we need more effort to ensure that these things are actualized.” Remarked Ngambi.
He said once this is actualized it will reap more benefits on both the cargo and transportation of passenger will be more effective. because of the challenges that are there the trains take a bit of transit time when it comes to travelling unto to Livingstone and when it is revamped the time will be reduced drastically and attract more passengers.
“Government should move in very quickly in terms of recapitalizing the Zambia airways it has been in Government now over a year and we need more action now on the way we are going to actualize the recapitalization and modernizing of Zambia airways.” He said.
