Track the African dream with Endorphin Expeditions and WhyAfrica
The Livingstone/Ndola railway line is part of a great African dream.
By Leon Louw founder of WhyAfrica and Endorphin Expeditions
During a recent WhyAfrica Overland Road Trip I walked alongside the Livingstone to Ndola railway line.
I started walking about 2km from Victoria Falls on the Zambian side and followed the tracks until I got to the town of Livingstone.
I didn’t see any trains on my walk, but what I did see was a large breeding herd of elephants crossing the line about 4km from town.
This railway line was supposed to connect Cape Town in South Africa with Cairo in Egypt.
A Cecil John Rhodes dream
The idea of a Cape to Cairo railway line was dreamed up by Cecil John Rhodes in the late 1800s.
The project got off to a good start and the line connecting Cape Town with Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and Livingstone in Zambia was completed in 1905.
This scope included the construction of the iconic Victoria Falls bridge that connects Zambia and Zimbabwe across the Batoka Gorge 170m below the world-famous Victoria Falls.
The line is still active today and it is possible to reach Tanzania and the border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) when boarding in Livinstone.
Connections in Zambia
In Zambia the line connects the towns of Livingstone with Kalomo-Choma-Lusaka-Kapiri Mposhi-Ndola-Kitwe-Chingola and Sakania.
It is used by freight trains (especially for carrying copper and mining supplies between the Copperbelt and southern Africa), tourist trains (luxury excursions that cross the Victoria Falls Bridge) and the occasional passenger services (services are irregular).
Soon the Mosetse–Kazungula–Livingstone Railway line from Botswana will link with the Livinsgstone-Ndola line about 80m northwest of Livingstone at the confluence of the Chobe and Zambezi Rivers.
In the not too distance future this 430-kilometre Cape gauge international railway will connect South African and Namibian ports with the Botswana railway network, the Zambian railway network and ultimately the Copperbelt of Zambia and the DRC.
Modernising railway lines
Last year, Zambia signed a €50 million financing agreement with the European Union to modernise the Livingstone–Ndola railway line.
The project forms part of a wider strategy to expand rail’s role in national logistics.
Zambia and Tanzania are also working to modernise the TAZARA railway and Zambia is exploring the development of a tripartite rail corridor linking Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to improve access to the ports of Beira and Maputo in Mozambique.
The dream of an overland route from Cape Town in South Africa to Cairo in Egypt is still very much alive.
Follow that dream with WhyAfrica and its sister company Endorphin Expeditions.
Remember that WhyAfrica will be in Zambia from 22 March to 02 April to connect the missing links.
Image: The Livingston/Ndola railway line. Image credit: Leon Louw for WhyAfrica
Track the African dream with WhyAfrica
