News

KABWE, Zambia  21st April 2025 – Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) wishes to inform the general public that passenger train services between Livingstone and Kitwe have been temporarily suspended with immediate effect. This is as a result of a derailment involving a goods train  today at 07:00hrs  between Zimba and Bowood Section in Southern Province.

The derailment suspected to be caused by a broken rail involved a  North – bound goods train no. 222 with twenty-eight (28) wagons conveying coal, out of which nine (9) wagons capsized ,resulting in significant damage to the track and further necessitating urgent repair works before the line can be reopened to freight and passenger services.

Fortunately , there were no fatalities or injuries recorded as a result of the derailment . The suspension therefore entails that the passenger train that was scheduled to depart from Livingstone tonight at 20:00hrs will not take off as scheduled. Similarly, the other passenger train that should have departed from Kitwe this week on Friday at 16:00hrs will not move as planned . This decision is in the interest of public safety and to ensure the integrity of our operations remains paramount.

We would like to assure all our stakeholders that the  engineering teams are working round the clock to clear the derailment site and expedite restoration works.

ZRL sincerely  regrets  the inconvenience this disruption may cause to our valued passengers and the general public . We remain committed to delivering safe and reliable rail services, and we will provide timely updates on the progress of the restoration and the resumption of services.

For further inquiries or updates, please contact:

+260765211826

Email: info@zrl.com.zm