The Tanzania Zambia Railways Authority train, the Mukuba Express, derailed near Kiyowela Station on its way to Kapiri Mposhi, from Dar-es-salaam on Saturday, February 19, 2023.
Until now the reasons behind the train derailment is yet to be known.
Reports from the scene of the accident which essentially occurred in the Southern Parts of Tanzania before crossing to Zambia Iringa Region reveal that there were no casualties.
However, pictures from the derailment spot show some of the train wagons’ wheels being dislodged from its chassis.
The carriages are also seen leaning dangerously from the tracks with some of their axles being off.
Operating under the Tanzania Zambia Railways Authority (TAZARA), the Mukuba Express Train normally runs between New kapiri Mposhi and Dar es Salaam twice a week.
This TAZARA special train schedule is fixed for Tuesdays and Fridays.
The Mukuba Express usually leaves New Kapiri Mposhi at 16:00 hours on Tuesday and Dar es Salaam at 15:50 hours on Fridays.
TAZARA is a bi-national railway linking the Southern Africa Regional transport network to Eastern Africa’s seaport of Dar es Salaam, providing both freight and passenger transportation services between and within Tanzania and Zambia.
The Railway meanders more than 1,860 kilometers from Tanzania’s largest city and port of Dar es Salaam, along the Indian Ocean Coastline to Kapiri Mposhi, near the Copper belt in central Zambia.
After being commissioned in the 70s the Tanzania Zambia Railways was regarded as the greatest engineering effort of its kind since the second World War (WWII).