Tanzania/Zambia: TAZARA resumes full passenger train operations! [update]

update (25 October 2022): TAZARA has resumed cross-border services between New Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania today.

Following three weeks of assessing the suitability of the Chambeshi Railway Brigde for full train operations and the temporary suspension of passenger services in Zambia due to a goods train accident that occurred in a curve between Msanza Station and Kapwila Station in the Nakonde District on 22 September 2022, the Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) has now announced the resumption of full passenger train operations in Zambia and Tanzania. The Mukuba Passenger Train in Zambia will start running through to New Kapiri Mposhi from 13 October 2022. In addition, the Mukuba Passenger Train and the Kilimanjaro Passenger Train will both resume their cross-border services between New Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, respectively, on 18 October 2022. Safe travels!

Chambeshi Railway Bridge
© TAZARA

The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) is a bi-national railway, jointly owned by the Government of Tanzania and the Government of Zambia on an equal share-holding basis. The 1,860 km-rail runs from Tanzania and East Africa’s major seaport of Dar es Salaam into the heart of Zambia's Central Province, terminating at New Kapiri-Mposhi, where it is further linked by road and rail to Zambia's capital city, Lusaka (about 200 km), Zambia's mining nerve centre, the Copperbelt province (about 100 km) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  

TAZARA resumes cross-border passenger train operations between Tanzania and Zambia!

The Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) has announced that the Chambeshi Railway Bridge on the Chambeshi River in Zambia's Muchinga Province, which was closed to traffic on 13 October 2021, has been re-opened, following the completion of repair works by the Engineering Contractor. However, passage is currently limited to freight trains only at a restricted running speed, as readings are taken to gauge the bridge performance and suitability for full train operations in the next two weeks.

Chambeshi Railway Bridge
© TAZARA

As test runs are going on, TAZARA is mobilizing and preparing the coaches for the Kilimanjaro and Mukuba passenger trains in readiness for the resumption of cross-border passenger services between Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania, and New Kapiri-Mposhi, in Zambia, which were suspended in March 2020 following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Mukuba and Kilimanjaro passenger trains are both set to resume their journeys from New Kapiri-Mposhi and Dar es Salaam, respectively, on 04 October 2022. We'll keep you posted!

TAZARA: Resumption of cross-border passenger train operations between Tanzania and Zambia! [update #4]

update (16 August 2022): The Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) posted on Facebook on 15 August 2022 that the repairs at the Chambeshi Bridge near completion. We'll keep you posted!

update (13 July 2022): The re-opening of the Chambeshi Bridge has been pushed back due to the delayed arrival of steel members from South Africa. The repairs will now be completed by 16 August 2022 and the testing and commissioning of the line by 19 August 2022.

update (10 June 2022):  TAZARA Regional Manager Kambani Ndhlovu: "We will not rush to commence full operations after completion of repair works on July 22 but will wait for a period of three to four weeks of testing to ensure that the bridge is perfect and later have it recommissioned." [src.]

update (07 June 2022): According to a recent update by Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) on Facebook, the full cross-border services will only resume sometime towards the end of July 2022, once the Chambeshi Railway Bridge is repaired. 

The Managing Director of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA), Eng. Bruno Ching’andu, has announced that the Chambeshi Rail Bridge, which suffered major damages from a goods train accident in May 2021, will be ready for use again by the end of July 2022. TAZARA is planning to resume freight operations across the bridge on 22 July 2022 and to commence all passenger operations shortly thereafter, including cross-border passenger services between Tanzania and Zambia which were suspended in May 2020, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chambeshi Rail Bridge
© TAZARA

The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) is a bi-national railway, jointly owned by the Government of Tanzania and the Government of Zambia on an equal share-holding basis. The 1,860 km-rail runs from Tanzania and East Africa’s major seaport of Dar es Salaam into the heart of Zambia's Central Province, terminating at New Kapiri-Mposhi, where it is further linked by road and rail to Zambia's capital city, Lusaka (about 200 km), Zambia's mining nerve centre, the Copperbelt province (about 100 km) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

TAZARA to resume cross-border passenger train operations between Tanzania and Zambia!

The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) has announced that cross-border passenger train operations between Tanzania and Zambia on board the Mukuba Passenger Train and Kilimanjaro Passenger Train, which were suspended at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, will resume in July 2022. TAZARA further announced that the repair work of the Chambeshi Railway Bridge in Zambia will finally start in March 2022. The repairs are expected to be completed in four months' time, so that train operations across the Chambeshi Railway Bridge can resume in July 2022. We'll keep you posted!

Photo by katsuma tanaka on Unsplash

Kenya to launch a new railway line between Nairobi <> Naivasha today! [update]

update (18 October 2019): According to news reports, trains between Nairobi and Naivasha are operating three times a day.

Kenya Railways is set to open the new extension of the Kenya Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) today. The 120 kilometer railway line between Nairobi and Naivasha is the second phase of the SGR; the first phase of the project was the construction of the new railway line between Mombasa and Nairobi, which was opened in May 2017. As of now, only passenger services will be available between Nairobi and Naivasha and only four (Ongata Rongai, Ngong, Mai Mahiu and Suswa) of the anticipated 12 stations along the route will be operational. A train schedule and pricing is currently not available. 

Naivasha is located in Nakuru County about 100km northwest of Nairobi. The town is the gateway to nearby Hell's Gate National Park, Mount Longonot National Park and Mount Longonot as well as Lake Naivasha.

Botswana: Botswana Railways (BR) temporarily suspends the selling of food & beverages on board the BR Express! [update]

update (05 January 2019): The Government of Botswana has removed the Facebook post in which BR's suspension of the "buffet service" was announced. We can currently not confirm that the service is still available or not. We'll keep you posted!

Botswana Railways (BR), the national railway of Botswana, has announced that it will temporarily suspend the "buffet service" (selling of food, snacks, refreshments and alcoholic beverages) on board the BR Express with immediate effect from 05 January 2019 until further notice. Passengers may bring their own meals/snacks and refreshments onboard except for any alcoholic beverages. The BR Express is Botswana Railways' overnight service between Lobatse and Francistown via Gaborone, Pilane, Mahalapye, Palapye, Serule and Tonota Halt. The "BR Express" also connects Francistown with Bulawayo in Zimbabwe.

TAZARA: New passenger fares in Zambia!

The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) has announced that it will adjust passenger fares for the TAZARA Railway in Zambia. The adjustment will erase the disparity between fares paid for in Tanzanian shillings (TSh) and fares paid for in Zambian Kwacha caused by continued depreciation of the Zambian Kwacha relative to the Tanzanian shilling (TSh). The new fares, as indicated in the schedules for both Express and Ordinary passenger trains in Zambia, will become effective from 17 September 2018.



The TAZARA Railway, operated by the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA), is a railroad in East Africa linking the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania with the town of New Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia's Central Province.

You may download the new fares here (pdf) >>