The famously landlocked countries of Central Asia have embarked on a mission: diversifying trade routes and securing ocean access via rail. They see the desired trans-Afghan railway as a way to achieve that. Some 7,500 kilometres away, the southern African nation of Zambia seems to pursue the same idea.
In Europe, the main themes in the rail freight world concern profitability and reliability. The continent has a dense rail network, but businesses strive to outcompete the road sector and widen their financial margins. And yes, the infrastructure is there, but disruptions push valued customers away from Europe’s freight trains.
The rail freight landscape in Europe looks much different from elsewhere. The lead of this article already mentioned Central Asia, where the overarching theme concerns trade route diversification. Building new railways and reaching new destinations is key for economic security and trade potential. RailFreight.com has reported extensively on the various agreements and studies being undertaken to work towards a trans-Afghan railway, for instance.
A similar situation is unfolding in southern Africa. The champion of rail in this region is Zambia: a similarly landlocked country. It will be the beneficiary of not one, not two, but three ongoing rail projects that originate in the country.
TAZARA and Lobito
The first two are the TAZARA (to Dar Es-Salaam, Tanzania) and the Lobito Corridor (to Angola). Both connect Zambia’s inland mines to ocean ports, creating or rehabilitating avenues for exports and economic growth. Whereas the TAZARA is a China-sponsored railway with national Zambian investments leading to Africa’s east coast, investment in the Lobito Corridor is the Western answer to the Chinese infrastructure ambitions in the region.
As a result, Zambia could soon have two functioning rail routes giving it access to the world’s oceans: one leading west, one leading east. Meanwhile, the country is gearing up for a third railway. The Mosetse–Kazungula–Livingstone (MKL) line will connect Zambia to its southern neighbour Botswana through a narrow 150-metre long shared border across the Zambezi river.
While this railway will not link to any coast, it will improve the country’s connectivity to its much richer neighbour. On 1 April, government representatives came together to reaffirm their commitment to building the MKL railway. A favourable situation for Zambia, considering Botswana is a relatively large importer of its copper wires.
A word of advice from Europe
The MKL project aims to enhance trade, connectivity, and regional integration, explains Zambia’s rail operator. MKL will span approximately 430 kilometres, comprising 365 kilometres from Mosetse (Botswana) to border town Kazungula. From Kazungula, it is another 65 kilometres to Livingstone (Zambia). MKL “is expected to improve cargo and passenger movement while reducing transport costs and easing pressure on road infrastructure.”
With rail-port connections to Durban (South Africa), Dar Es-Salaam and Lobito, Zambia looks set transport-wise for exports of valuable mining products. The MKL will improve trade with wealthy Botswana.
While Europe battles with its own rail maladies, the same sector is looking promising for Zambia. A word of advice from our continent: just make sure to keep those track access charges affordable and infrastructure reliable. In that aspect, Zambia may run into familiar problems, remaining dependent on the availability of rail infrastructure across borders.
