THE Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara) has announced that services will resume between Kasama and New Kapiri-Mposhi in Zambia on July 22 following the repair of the Chambeshi River Railway Bridge, which was damaged by a freight train accident on May 13 2021.

Passenger and freight services from Tanzania have had to terminate in Kasama, more then 630km from New Kapiri-Mposhi.

The board of Tazara declared that the closure of the bridge was “a national emergency” due to the impact on the national economies of Tanzania and Zambia.

Tazara managing director, Mr Bruno Ching’andu, said they have received assurances from the contractor, Jianngsu Gold Civil Construction Company, that the repair work was progressing well and the bridge would be ready for use by July 22.

Ching’andu said contractor had ordered the steel parts required for the repairs, and was already dismantling the damaged bridge.

“With these assurances, we plan to resume freight operations across the Chambeshi Bridge on July 22 and all passenger operations will commence shortly thereafter, including cross-border passenger services which were suspended in May 2020, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Ching’andu says.