This article is about the Transport in

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

Railway

There is a total of 2,157 km (2008) of railway track in Zambia.

Principal lines

Zambia Railways Zambia Railways (ZR) is the national railway company of Zambia and one of the two major railway organisations in Zambia. The other system is the binational TAZARA Railway (TAZARA) that interconnects with the ZR at Kapiri Mposhi and provides a li ...

Limited (ZRL) – narrow gauge, 846 km

Kitwe Kitwe is the third largest city in terms of infrastructure development (after Lusaka and Ndola) and second largest city in terms of size and population (after Lusaka) in Zambia. With a population of 517,543 (''2010 census provisional'') Kitwe is ...

Ndola Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia in terms of size and population, with a population of 627,503 (''2022 census''), after the capital, Lusaka, and Kitwe, and the second largest in terms of infrastructure development after Lusaka. It is the I ...

-New

Kapiri Mposhi Kapiri Mposhi is a Zambian town and the seat of the Kapiri Mposhi District in Central Province. Located north of Lusaka, it stands on the Great North Road and is significant for the railway connection between the Zambia Railways line from Kitw ...

Kabwe Kabwe is the capital of the Zambian Central Province and the Kabwe District, with a population estimated at 288,598 at the 2022 census. Named Broken Hill until 1966, it was founded when lead and zinc deposits were discovered in 1902. Kabwe also ...

Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was abo ...

- Livingstone-

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

with several freight branches mostly in the

Copperbelt The Copperbelt () is a natural region in Central Africa which sits on the border region between northern Zambia and the south eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It is known for copper mining and is the second largest global reserve of copper, ...

totalling 427 km including to

DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. Passenger services between Kitwe and Livingstone only. *

TAZARA Railway The Tazara Railway, also called the Uhuru Railway or the Tanzam Railway, is a railway in East Africa linking the port of Dar es Salaam in east Tanzania with the town of Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia's Central Province. The single-track railway is ...

– narrow gauge, 891 km in Zambia: New

Mpika Mpika is a town in the Muchinga Province, Zambia, Muchinga Province of Zambia, lying at the junction of the M1 road (Zambia), M1 road to Kasama, Zambia, Kasama and Mbala, Zambia, Mbala and the Tanzam Highway (Great North Road, Zambia, Great North ...

- Kasama-

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

Notable Branch lines

* Maamba Colliery Railway, Choma to Masuka, built to carry coal. * The Mulobezi Railway (also known as Zambezi Sawmills Railway) is a narrow gauge line constructed to carry timber from Mulobezi to Livingstone. Has been reported at various times as defunct, currently listed in Railtracker (see 'Railway Network Map' below) but operating status not confirmed. * Mulungushi Commuter Line, later Njanji Commuter Line managed by ZRL, operated from 1991 to 1998 in Lusaka from the Chilenje-Libala to George townships (16 km); bids invited by the privatisiation board in September 2005 for re-opening it.

Railway links with adjacent countries

– yes,

Sakania Sakania is a town in Haut-Katanga Province, in the Congo Pedicle, in the far south of the Democratic Republic of Congo, near the border with Zambia. It is located at an elevation of 1278m asl, therefore it has a cool climate. Between 1935 and 1939 ...

then Lubumbashi – , freight only. (For extensions and reconstruction beyond Lubumbashi see the

article). The current operating status of Chililabombwe-DR Congo link not known. *

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

– yes, from

, border crossing at Nakonde, Zambia, to Dar es Salaam, TAZARA railway, passenger and freight – *

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

–

Chipata Chipata is a city and administrative centre of the Eastern Province of Zambia and Chipata District. It was declared the 5th city of the country, after Lusaka, Ndola, Kitwe and Livingstone, by President Edgar Lungu on 24 February 2017. The cit ...

Mchinji Mchinji is a town and the capital of the Mchinji District in the Central Region, Malawi, Central Region of Malawi. Mchinji Boma, located from the Zambian border and from the national capital, Lilongwe, is the major hub of government and genera ...

new link opened to traffic in 2010. *

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

– no direct link, but indirectly to Beira and Maputo via Zimbabwe (no continuous passenger services). *

– yes, from Livingstone via the Victoria Falls Bridge to

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...

, freight only. *

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

– no direct link, indirectly via Zimbabwe (no continuous passenger services). *

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

– no direct link. *

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

– no direct link – but indirectly via DR Congo to Benguela on the

Benguela Railway The Benguela Railway () is a 3 ft 6 in gauge railways, Cape gauge railway line that runs through Angola from west to east, being the largest and most important railway line in the country. It also connects to Tenke, Democratic Republic of the C ...

– same gauge , while the railway was inoperable for many years because of the Angolan Civil War, it has been recently reconstructed.

Proposed extensions

2007

on 25 August 2007. * A branch line from Nseluka on the

Mpulungu Mpulungu is a town in the Northern Province of Zambia, at the southern tip of Lake Tanganyika.Camerapix: "Spectrum Guide to Zambia." Camerapix International Publishing, Nairobi, 1996. From Mpulungu, boats reach DR Congo, Tanzania and Burundi. Th ...

Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika ( ; ) is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake. It is the world's List of lakes by volume, second-largest freshwater lake by volume and the List of lakes by depth, second deepest, in both cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. ...

has been proposed.Railways Africa – EXTENDING BEYOND CHIPATA
/ref> *A connection from the Chipata Railway when completed to the TAZARA line at

has been mooted. This could be controversial as it would pass through or between the world-famous

Luangwa Valley The Luangwa River is one of the major tributaries of the Zambezi River, and one of the four biggest rivers of Zambia. The river generally floods in the rainy season (December to March) and then falls considerably in the dry season. It is one of ...

national parks. A more southerly route, linking Eastern Province towns such as Katete and Petauke and going to the TAZARA line at

Serenje Serenje is a town in Serenje District, Central Province, Zambia, lying just off the Great North Road and TAZARA Railway. Serenje has a railway station on the TAZARA railway. Serenje is approximately 191 km from Kapiri Mposhi on the Great ...

would by-pass the parks.

2006

Zambia's North-West Extension – 8 February 2006 – Preparatory work is going forward on Zambia's proposed new north-western extension railway from

Chingola Chingola is a town in Zambia's Copperbelt Province, the country's copper-mining region, with a population of 256,560 (2022 census). It is the home of Nchanga Copper Mine, a deep-shaft high-grade content copper mining operation, which subsequen ...

Solwezi Solwezi is a town in Zambia. It is the provincial capital of the mineral-rich North-Western Province. Solwezi is also the administrative capital of Solwezi District, one of the eleven districts in the North-Western Province. Geography Locati ...

, estimated to cost about $US235m. The area has excellent mining potential which cannot be exploited effectively without rail facilities. The route has been surveyed and the implications of compensating land owners are being worked out. Australian and American interests are examining the project and the

Development Bank of Southern Africa The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) is a development finance institution wholly owned by the Government of South Africa. The bank intends to "accelerate sustainable socio-economic development in the Southern African Development Communit ...

(DBSA) may help with finance. The

United States Trade and Development Agency The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) is an independent agency of the United States government, formed in 1992 to advance economic development and U.S. commercial interests in developing and middle income countries. Structure The U. ...

(USTDA), another prospective source of funding, is also looking at the scheme. Hopes have been expressed that the new line might eventually be extended to

Mwinilunga Mwinilunga is a town in the North-Western Province of Zambia. It is the headquarters of Mwinilunga District, one of the province's eleven districts. Geography Location The town lies on the west bank of the ''West Lunga River'', along the Ching ...

and even to join Angola's

without relying on the DR Congo link, to restore what was until the 1970s Zambia's main route for exporting copper and other metals. In April 2012, according to newspaper reports, the Zambian government "has issued a permit to North-West Railway Company (NWR) for construction of the 554 km railway line from Chingola to Jimbe on the Angolan border". The Angolan transport ministry plans to build a line branching off the Benguela Railway at

Luacano Luacano is a town and municipality in Moxico Leste Province, Angola. The municipality had a population of 20,755 in 2014. The Luacano River (''Rio Luacano'') flows past the town to the west before entering the Kasai River, which forms the border ...

and entering Zambia from Macango,Details of lines to be rehabilitated and newly built at the web site of the Angolan transport ministry
thus avoiding

territory. The establishment of this direct link was also subject of talks during the visit of an Angolan delegation to Lusaka in May 2012. "The Benguela Railway will improve relations between the two countries as well as transportation of goods. It is encouraging that the railway on the Angolan side will reach the border by next year," said Keith Mukata, Zambian Deputy Minister for Commerce, Trade, and Industry.

Stations

Principal towns served by rail

= Existing

Roads in Zambia

Trade corridors

As a landlocked minerals producer, Trade Corridors are vital to Zambia. In Zambia's case these are road and/or rail routes which cross international borders to ports and which are the subject of international agreements on planning, use and management. They are not separate from the road and rail networks listed above, but are entities superimposed on those networks for strategic economic and trade development. They are: # Southern Corridor: to

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

Port via

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, South Africa via Zimbabwe (road or rail) or Botswana (road). # Maputo Corridor: As for (1) but rail or road from Johannesburg to

Maputo Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...

Port, Mozambique. # Walvis Bay Corridor: Road via Livingstone/Sesheke/Katima Mulilo to

Walvis Bay Walvis Bay (; ; ) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the List of cities in Namibia, second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The city covers an area of of land. The bay is a ...

Port, Namibia. # Beira Corridor: Road to

Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...

or rail to

, then rail via Mutare to Beira, Mozambique. # Nacala Corridor: road to

Lilongwe Lilongwe (, ,) is the capital and largest city of Malawi. It has a population of 989,318 as of the 2018 Census, up from a population of 674,448 in 2008. In 2020, that figure was 1,122,000. The city is located in the central region of Malawi, i ...

then rail to

Nacala Nacala (also known as Cidade de Nacala or Nacala-Porto) is a city on the northern coast of Mozambique. Located in the southwestern indentation of inner Fernao Veloso Bay, it is the deepest natural port on the east coast of Africa. Nacala serves a ...

, Mozambique. # Tazara Corridor: road or rail via

, Tanzania. # Lobito Corridor: rail via DR Congo to Lobito Bay, Angola (not currently operational, depends on Benguala Railway re-opening). Corridors 1 to 6 may also be used by southeastern DR Congo though Zambia.

Water transport

Although none of the major urban centres are located on usable waterways, Zambia is a relatively well-watered country but is mainly flat, meaning there are many navigable rivers, lakes and channels through swamps, which together reach a large proportion of the rural population. These offer a minimum-maintenance rural transport alternative. In the cases of Bangweulu and Mweru Wantipa in particular, there are permanent and seasonal fishing communities for whom the only access is by boat or canoe. Transport in Zambia 6

Main systems

* 2,250 km of principal navigable rivers, including the upper

Zambezi The Zambezi (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than half of t ...

(

Barotse Floodplain The Barotse Floodplain, also known as the Bulozi Plain, Lyondo or the Zambezi Floodplain, is one of Africa's great wetlands, on the Zambezi River in the Western Province of Zambia. It is a designated Ramsar site, regarded as being of high conse ...

Chambeshi The Chambeshi (or Chambezi) River of northeastern Zambia is the most remote headstream of the Congo River (in length) and therefore it is considered the source of the Congo River. (However, by volume of water, the Lualaba River provides a greater ...

Kafue Kafue is a town on the T2 road in the Lusaka Province of Zambia and it lies on the north bank of the Kafue River, after which it is named. It is the southern gateway to the central Zambian plateau on which Lusaka and the mining towns of Kabwe ...

Luapula The Luapula River is a north-flowing river of central Africa, within the Congo River watershed. It rises in the wetlands of Lake Bangweulu (Zambia), which are fed by the Chambeshi River. The Luapula flows west then north, marking the border betw ...

; and the Luangwa, though not always in the dry season. * other rivers navigable to canoes and small boats seasonally or in sections include the Dongwe/ Kabompo and Lungwebungu in the west and Luena- Luongo and upper Kalungwishi in the north, and numerous others. * Lake transport – principal navigable lakes (with main port or boating centre in brackets):

(

Lake Mweru Lake Mweru (also spelled ''Mwelu'', ''Mwero'') (, ) is a freshwater lake on the longest arm of Africa's second-longest river, the Congo. Located on the border between Zambia and Democratic Republic of the Congo, it makes up of the total length ...

(

Nchelenge Nchelenge is a town in the Luapula Province of northern Zambia, lying on the south eastern shore of Lake Mweru. It is contiguous with Kashikishi, and they are sometimes referred to as Nchelenge-Kashikishi. Nchelenge is the administrative centre f ...

Kashikishi Kashikishi is a town on the south-eastern shore of Lake Mweru in the Luapula Province of Zambia. It lies just north of the district headquarters Nchelenge, and close enough for them to be considered twin towns; they are sometimes referred to as Nch ...

Lake Mweru Wantipa Lake Mweru Wantipa or Mweru-wa-Ntipa meaning "muddy lake" (also called 'Mweru Marsh') is a lake and swamp system in the Northern Province of Zambia. It has been regarded in the past as something of mystery, displaying fluctuations in water level ...

( Kaputa),

Lake Bangweulu Lake Bangweulu ('where the water sky meets the sky') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in northern Zambia. Bangweulu is one of the world's great Wetland, wetland systems, comprising Lake Bangweulu, the Bangweulu Wetlands and the Bangweulu flats or ...

( Samfya),

Lake Kariba Lake Kariba is the world's largest artificial lake and reservoir by volume. It lies upstream from the mouth of the Zambezi river on the Indian Ocean, along the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. Lake Kariba was filled between 1958 and 1963 fo ...

( Siavonga). * Navigable channels in swamps: the largest of these is the

Bangweulu Swamps The Bangweulu Wetlands is a wetland ecosystem adjacent to Lake Bangweulu in north-eastern Zambia. The area has been designated as one of the world's most important wetlands by the Ramsar Convention and an "Important Bird Area" by BirdLife Internat ...

comprising hundreds of kilometres of channels over an area of up to 10,000 km² depending on season. Others include the upper Zambezi/Barotse Floodplain especially at Mongu, the lower Luapula, the

Mweru Marshes Lake Mweru Wantipa or Mweru-wa-Ntipa meaning "muddy lake" (also called 'Mweru Marsh') is a lake and swamp system in the Northern Province of Zambia. It has been regarded in the past as something of mystery, displaying fluctuations in water level ...

, Lukanga Swamp, and the Luena-Lufubu swamps at Mushota, Kawambwa district.

Air transport

Zambia has four international airports, five airstrips and five secondary airfields that serve the domestic and international flights. The main airport is Lusaka Kenneth Kaunda International Airport. Other smaller airports include Livingstone and Mfuew, Ndola along with secondary airfields including Kasama, Kitwe, Chipata, Mongi, Mansa and Solwezi. Zambia has an 'open skies' policy since the state-owned national carrier failed. Before its demise, Zambian Airways was the only Zambia-based scheduled carrier. As of 2022, there are several scheduled carriers based in Zambia:

Zambia Airways Zambia Airways is the flag carrier of the Republic of Zambia. The airline is based in Lusaka, Zambia with its hub at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport. Originally, the airline was founded in April 1964. It was liquidated by the government i ...

, Proflight Zambia, Royal Zambian Airlines, and

Mahogany Air Mahogany Air is a Zambian regional airline based in Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plat ...

. Only six of Zambia's airports see scheduled commercial flights:

Chipata Airport Chipata Airport is an airport serving Chipata, a city in the Eastern Province of Zambia. The Chipata non-directional beacon (Ident: CP) is located on the field. Location Chipata Airport is in eastern Zambia, near the town of Chipata, approxim ...

Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airport Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport , formerly Livingstone Airport (ICAO: FLLI), is an international airport on the northern edge of Livingstone, Zambia. The airport is named after Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula, who was a leader of the Zamb ...

Kenneth Kaunda International Airport Kenneth Kaunda International Airport is an international airport located in Chongwe District, off the Great East Road, approximately northeast of the city centre of Lusaka, the capital and largest city of Zambia. The airport has a capacity ...

, Mfuwe Airport,

Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport is an international airport in Ndola, Copperbelt Province, Zambia. It was called Ndola Airport before being renamed in 2011 for Simon Kapwepwe, the nation's former vice president. It is adjacent to th ...

, and Solwezi Airport. Zambia's three international airports offer passenger flights to

Mbombela Mbombela, formerly Nelspruit, is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province. Located on the Crocodile River (Mpumalanga), Crocodile River, the city lies about by road west of the Mozambique border, east o ...

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, and

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Airports – With Paved Runways

''Total:'' 8
''Over 3,047 m:'' 1
''2,438 to 3,047 m:'' 3
''1,524 to 2,437 m:'' 3
''914 to 1,523 m:'' 1 (2012)

Airfields – with unpaved runways

''Total:'' 80
''2,438 to 3,047 m:'' 1
''1,524 to 2,437 m:'' 5
''914 to 1,523 m:'' 53
''under 914 m:'' 21 (2012)

References

External links

National Road Fund Agency website

UN Map

Railway Map

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