rom Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to Kapari Mposhi in Zambia, the Tazara railway takes you across eastern and southern Africa. It has become one of the best ways to see Zambia’s beautiful scenery and experience the local culture of both countries.
Completed in 1975, this 56-hour leisure train travels 1860 kilometers through some of the most beautiful scenery in Africa. Glide by the Selous Game Reserve and witness warthogs, baboons, guinea fowl in their natural habitat; admire waterfalls, rivers, valleys, rainforests, highlands, and mountains while breathing fresh, crisp air through the open windows. You won’t need to worry about traveling too fast to admire the scenery, as at some points, Tazara trains travel at less than 30km an hour. Other than its scenic value, the people are also part of what makes this train ride enjoyable. When stopping in villages, local women will approach the train while balancing baskets full of fruit on top of their heads and engage in sales with passengers. Villages also vary from each other, with some proffering busy marketplaces, where others have small huts. Since Tazara is a form of local transportation, there are also plenty of locals on the train who are willing to chat with you and practice English while you practice Swahili.
The Tazara railway is also known as the Uhuru Railway, which means “freedom” in Swahili. Zambia is naturally rich in copper, which makes up 70% of the country’s exports. Though British colonizers considered building a similar railway route to transport copper in the 19th century, the idea was shut down because it would be unprofitable for Westerners. Eventually, in the 1960s, the construction began as a cooperative result between the Zambian, Tanzanian, and Chinese governments to eliminate landlocked Zambia’s economic dependence on Rhodesia (present-day Zimbabwe) and South Africa’s white-minority ruled governments. Totaling USD $500 million (USD $2.6 billion today), the Tazara railway became China’s largest single foreign aid project at the time. Despite critics calling the railway project a “500 million dollar mistake”, the railway was successfully completed in 1975.
Starting commercial operations in 1976, Tazara became the only trade route from the sea to newly liberated Zambia’s copper belt that did not traverse white-dominated cities important to the old regime. However, the railway faced operational difficulties and required additional Chinese support to retain operations in 1987. The European Economic Community (Sweden, Australia, France, Germany, and others) also issued around USD $150 million in foreign aid between 1987 and 1993. The United States helped as well, providing foreign support through USAID by offering locomotives and training. With this collective effort between European countries, China, and the U.S., Tazara’s transport capacity became more efficient and improved.
Serving as the longest railway in sub-Saharan Africa, Tazara is much more than just a railway. Other than assisting Zambia’s landlocked economy, Tazara has also been able to help other landlocked nations along its route such as Malawi, Burundi, and Rwanda. The railway has improved life for locals, allowing farmers to plant more diverse crops, facilitating trade between cities, allowing settlements to expand in size, and building even larger developments such as water plants and paper mills. To this day, Tazara symbolizes the power of foreign aid and international bond. During the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, when the Olympic torch passed through six continents, the only stop in Africa began at the Tazara grand terminal station in Tanzania.
Though the 56-hour trip is occasionally delayed, the train provides a unique experience to travel through Africa. There are two passenger trains every week in each direction, departing on Tuesdays and Fridays.
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The Tazara Railway
Tazara Railway - Richard Stupart via Flickr. Creative Commons.
October 25, 2020
F
rom Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to Kapari Mposhi in Zambia, the Tazara railway takes you across eastern and southern Africa. It has become one of the best ways to see Zambia’s beautiful scenery and experience the local culture of both countries.
Completed in 1975, this 56-hour leisure train travels 1860 kilometers through some of the most beautiful scenery in Africa. Glide by the Selous Game Reserve and witness warthogs, baboons, guinea fowl in their natural habitat; admire waterfalls, rivers, valleys, rainforests, highlands, and mountains while breathing fresh, crisp air through the open windows. You won’t need to worry about traveling too fast to admire the scenery, as at some points, Tazara trains travel at less than 30km an hour. Other than its scenic value, the people are also part of what makes this train ride enjoyable. When stopping in villages, local women will approach the train while balancing baskets full of fruit on top of their heads and engage in sales with passengers. Villages also vary from each other, with some proffering busy marketplaces, where others have small huts. Since Tazara is a form of local transportation, there are also plenty of locals on the train who are willing to chat with you and practice English while you practice Swahili.
The Tazara railway is also known as the Uhuru Railway, which means “freedom” in Swahili. Zambia is naturally rich in copper, which makes up 70% of the country’s exports. Though British colonizers considered building a similar railway route to transport copper in the 19th century, the idea was shut down because it would be unprofitable for Westerners. Eventually, in the 1960s, the construction began as a cooperative result between the Zambian, Tanzanian, and Chinese governments to eliminate landlocked Zambia’s economic dependence on Rhodesia (present-day Zimbabwe) and South Africa’s white-minority ruled governments. Totaling USD $500 million (USD $2.6 billion today), the Tazara railway became China’s largest single foreign aid project at the time. Despite critics calling the railway project a “500 million dollar mistake”, the railway was successfully completed in 1975.
Starting commercial operations in 1976, Tazara became the only trade route from the sea to newly liberated Zambia’s copper belt that did not traverse white-dominated cities important to the old regime. However, the railway faced operational difficulties and required additional Chinese support to retain operations in 1987. The European Economic Community (Sweden, Australia, France, Germany, and others) also issued around USD $150 million in foreign aid between 1987 and 1993. The United States helped as well, providing foreign support through USAID by offering locomotives and training. With this collective effort between European countries, China, and the U.S., Tazara’s transport capacity became more efficient and improved.
Serving as the longest railway in sub-Saharan Africa, Tazara is much more than just a railway. Other than assisting Zambia’s landlocked economy, Tazara has also been able to help other landlocked nations along its route such as Malawi, Burundi, and Rwanda. The railway has improved life for locals, allowing farmers to plant more diverse crops, facilitating trade between cities, allowing settlements to expand in size, and building even larger developments such as water plants and paper mills. To this day, Tazara symbolizes the power of foreign aid and international bond. During the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, when the Olympic torch passed through six continents, the only stop in Africa began at the Tazara grand terminal station in Tanzania.
Though the 56-hour trip is occasionally delayed, the train provides a unique experience to travel through Africa. There are two passenger trains every week in each direction, departing on Tuesdays and Fridays.
