Rethinking the Rail Link

A railway linking Zambia with the East African coast at Dar es Salaam would offer Zambia complete transport independence from the south. For the region as a whole it symbolizes dreams of economic cooperation and integrated progress. According to the Maxwell Stamp report (1967) the railway would be economic even on the assumption that there was no objection to sending any amount of traffic via the south (Rhodesia Railways). The main argument for the rail link is a political and strategic one. Zambia cannot afford to miss the chance of a reliable route to the sea capable of handling all its traffic at reasonable cost. No route which passes through Rhodesia, the Portuguese colonies or the Congo can be regarded as reliable. The only real choice is between road and rail and it is here that cost studies ought to be concentrated. Tanzania’s reasons for wanting the rail link are more purely economic: it is a prerequisite for the agricultural potential of the Kilombero Valley, as well as for the mineral Mbeya area. As for the financement: there has been a Chinese offer. On this the opinion in the USA is divided.