Critical Tazara bridge to reopen in july

Freight and passenger operations across the critical Chambeshi bridge in eastern Zambia will resume on 22 July, the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) said on Wednesday. The bridge has been closed since it was damaged by floods in May 2021, forcing trains from Tanzania to terminate at Kasama, 630km for the Zambian terminus at New Kapiri Mposhi.

Tazara managing director Bruno Ching’andu said Jianngsu Gold Civil Construction Company, the contractor repairing the bridge had assured the authority would be ready for rail traffic to resume on July 22.

Freight operations would start first followed shortly afterwards by passenger trains, Ching’andu said. Cross-border passenger trains, halted during the Covid-19 pandemic, would also resume.

Source: Railways Africa