By MILDRED KATONGO –
THE Engineering Institute of Zambia (EIZ) has proposed to the Government to fund feasibility studies to electrify railway operations to reduce energy costs and improve efficiency in the transport sector.
EIZ president George Sitali said the diesel-electric locomotives could gradually be replaced with electric-powered locomotives once the studies were funded and this would improve efficiency in the sector.
Mr Sitali said there was need to fund the studies to also double the mainline on Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL), and the electrification of railway operations to reduce energy costs.
He said in a document on the state and management of the railway system in Zambia that implementation of the project could commence with the sections between Lusaka and Kabwe and between Lusaka and Kafue.
Mr Sitali said the sections of the track could be used as a pilot project with the possibility of extending it to the rest of the rail track.
“An efficient rail transport system would reduce energy costs and encourage many people to use that mode of transport and reduce congestion. Emphasis must, therefore, be to invest in projects that will improve speeds, operations and customer satisfaction,” he said.
Mr Sitali said Zambia’s railway network suffered from two major constraints, namely, poor track maintenance with respect to ZRL, and low availability of main line locomotives and wagons, in the case of TAZARA.
He said that problems faced by the railways had resulted in considerably reduced service capacity, hence their inability to attract more traffic.
Mr Sitali also observed that several sections of the railway line had been overgrown with weeds, making maintenance of the line difficult to carry out and that the fencing of railway land reserve in built-up areas was non-existent as it had been severely damaged.
He said Illegal settlers and traders had encroached on the railway lines and land reserves in Lusaka, Chipata, Ndola and Kitwe.
Mr Sitali recommended that there should be a need for investment in local capacity in the production of concrete sleepers to meet demand, as opposed to importing them from outside the country and also finding an equity partner to improve local manufacturing capacity of selected railway track tools and spares at the railway workshop in Kabwe.
He called for increasing train speed to between 80 kilometres per hour and 100 kilometres per hour when both the main and branch lines were maintained in good condition and also reconstruction of most of the vandalised remote railway stations.
Mr Sitali said in the case of TAZARA, Zambia and Tanzania should agree to choose an independent partner to commercially run TAZARA.
He said the organisational structure of TAZARA restricted the company from operating in a commercial way because of the direct involvement of the two governments in the decision-making process, which made it difficult to make commercial decisions that would not have implications for either country.