Kabwe’s Railway Empire: The Rise, Fall and Possible Revival of Rail

 

Kabwe’s Railway Empire: What Happened to the Town That Was Built on Steel?

There was a time when the sound of a train was almost a declaration that Kabwe was alive.

Long before the town became known simply as Kabwe, the place was called Broken Hill. In 1906, railway construction reached the settlement, driven largely by the economic promise of its lead and zinc mine. The railway was not an afterthought. It was part of the reason the settlement mattered in the first place.

More than a century later, the tracks remain, the railway workshops remain and Zambia Railways still has its headquarters in Kabwe. But the railway no longer dominates the town's economic life in the way older generations remember.

So what happened?

And perhaps the more important question for Kabwe today is this: can the railway once again become an engine of economic growth?

THEN: A railway arrives in Broken Hill

The story begins with minerals.

The railway moving north from Southern Africa was being pushed towards places where there was an economic reason to build it. Broken Hill offered exactly that: mineral deposits that could potentially generate freight.

The railway reached Broken Hill in 1906. One of the major engineering obstacles was the Kafue River, where a 427-metre railway bridge was constructed. At the time, it was the longest bridge on the Rhodesian railway network.

The scale of the undertaking is difficult to appreciate today.

This was an era before modern construction machinery, satellite positioning and sophisticated logistics systems. Materials had to travel enormous distances, workers had to build through difficult terrain and a railway had to be physically pushed across the landscape.

Historical accounts describe the Kafue bridge as a 13-span steel structure. The railway eventually continued northwards, reaching Ndola in 1909 and subsequently connecting with the wider mining economy of the Copperbelt and Katanga.

The railway therefore did something profound.

It did not merely connect Kabwe to other places.

It connected Kabwe to an economy.

THEN: The railway becomes an institution

Once the railway arrived, its importance extended beyond transporting minerals.

Railways need people.

Drivers were needed to operate locomotives. Mechanics had to maintain engines. Track workers had to maintain the line. Clerks, signal workers, engineers and other employees became part of the growing railway system.

Communities developed around railway activity.

Businesses benefited from workers and passengers. Families depended on railway wages. Workshops became places where technical skills were developed and passed from one generation to another.

This is an important part of Kabwe's railway history that can easily disappear from the public memory.

When people say that "the railway built Kabwe", they are not simply talking about steel tracks.

They are talking about an entire social and economic ecosystem built around those tracks.

And the railway's influence extended well beyond the station.

Zambia Railways still operates its main workshops in Kabwe, and the company describes engineering services carried out at the Kabwe Main Workshops as one of its four main revenue streams.

That is significant.

The railway may no longer have the dominance it once enjoyed, but Kabwe remains institutionally connected to Zambia's railway system.

THEN: Rail was the freight highway

Imagine Kabwe before today's massive network of heavy trucks.

Moving large quantities of goods over long distances by road was not the same proposition it is today.

Rail offered an obvious advantage for bulk cargo.

A train could pull numerous wagons behind one locomotive, creating an efficient way of moving large quantities of goods.

For a mining economy, this was particularly important.

The railway could move minerals, equipment and other heavy cargo while simultaneously connecting communities and commercial centres.

This is why the railway's decline was never going to be simply about trains disappearing from the tracks.

If rail loses business, the consequences reach workshops, workers, suppliers, traders and communities.

NOW: The trucks have changed the game

Walk along Zambia's major highways today and the difference is obvious.

Heavy trucks have become an essential part of the country's economy.

They carry minerals, agricultural produce, fuel, machinery and consumer goods across the country and into neighbouring markets.

Road transport has one powerful advantage: flexibility.

A truck can leave a factory, farm or mine and travel directly to a customer's premises.

Rail has historically been less flexible. Cargo often needs to be collected, loaded, transferred and delivered through a more structured system.

For businesses working under pressure to reduce costs and meet deadlines, reliability matters as much as capacity.

This is where the railway's problems became increasingly serious.

It was not enough to have tracks.

The tracks had to be in good condition.

There had to be locomotives.

There had to be wagons.

And trains had to move at commercially useful speeds.

NOW: The numbers tell part of the story

Zambia Railways' own figures illustrate how much freight the system has been handling.

In 2018, the company reported hauling 870,914 tonnes of cargo and transporting 282,081 passengers. In 2019, freight increased to 963,843 tonnes, while passenger numbers fell to 269,687.

Those numbers show that rail was still carrying substantial amounts of cargo.

But they also reveal the challenge.

The railway was operating below its potential, and road transport had become a formidable competitor.

The problem was not that Zambia had stopped needing transportation.

The problem was that the railway was struggling to provide transportation at the scale and reliability the modern economy demanded.

NOW: The railway admits the tracks need help

Zambia Railways' current strategy is unusually revealing.

Its 2024–2028 Strategic Business Plan identifies infrastructure development, technology integration, customer growth and business sustainability among its priorities.

The company's own leadership has also acknowledged the seriousness of the infrastructure problem.

In explaining the new strategy, ZRL Board Chairperson Emmanuel Hachipuka said the company was dealing with an "aged and poor" track condition and that deferred maintenance had contributed to the deterioration of infrastructure and rolling stock. He said the company needed about US$248.24 million to implement the strategic plan.

That is a staggering figure.

It tells us something important about the railway's decline: fixing it is not simply a matter of repainting stations or buying a few locomotives.

The problem is structural.

THE TURNING POINT: Could rail come back?

Here the story takes an unexpected turn.

In September 2025, Zambia Railways announced that discussions with the European Union over an infrastructure rehabilitation grant had reached an advanced stage. The proposed €50 million EU grant was intended to support rehabilitation of critical railway infrastructure, including track, signalling and telecommunications systems.

Then, in March 2026, ZRL announced that it had appointed Pangaea Securities to help raise another US$60 million from development finance institutions and private-sector investors to complement the EU support.

The numbers attached to the revival plan are ambitious.

ZRL says its strategic plan aims to increase annual freight haulage from 800,000 tonnes in 2024 to 2.6 million tonnes by 2028.

That would represent more than a threefold increase.

It is an ambitious target—and it is precisely why Kabwe should be paying attention.

What would a railway revival mean for Kabwe?

The obvious answer is jobs.

But the bigger answer is economic activity.

A stronger railway could increase demand for engineering services, logistics, warehousing, freight handling, mechanical work and other businesses connected to transportation.

Kabwe already has one important advantage: the railway institution is still physically rooted there.

Zambia Railways' official headquarters are in Kabwe, while its main workshops are also located in the town.

That means Kabwe is not starting from zero.

The foundations of a railway economy are still present.

The question is whether they can be modernised.

THEN VS NOW: Two different Kabwes

THEN:
The railway was an economic powerhouse.

Locomotives dominated freight movement. Railway employment supported families. Workshops were important centres of technical expertise. The town's identity was closely connected to mining and rail.

NOW:
Road transport dominates much of the freight landscape. Railway infrastructure faces serious rehabilitation needs. The railway remains important, but its economic influence is nowhere near what older generations remember.

THE FUTURE:
Zambia is attempting to make rail competitive again through infrastructure rehabilitation, improved rolling stock, better operations and increased freight volumes.

That creates an intriguing possibility.

Kabwe could once again become a major logistics and engineering centre—not by returning to the past, but by building a modern railway economy on the foundations of its past.

But revival will not happen simply because money arrives

This is perhaps the most important part of the investigation.

Railway rehabilitation is necessary, but infrastructure alone cannot solve everything.

The railway needs customers.

Businesses must have reasons to choose rail over trucks. Cargo must arrive on time. Prices must be competitive. Locomotives and wagons must be available. Security must be maintained. Railway land and infrastructure must be protected.

ZRL has also been working to address vandalism of railway property, an issue that can undermine infrastructure investment.

And then there is the question of skills.

A modern railway requires engineers, technicians, digital systems specialists, logistics experts and skilled maintenance workers.

If Kabwe is serious about becoming a railway city again, its young people need to be part of that future.

The question hanging over Kabwe

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Kabwe's railway story is that it has not really ended.

It has simply entered a different chapter.

The railway that arrived in Broken Hill in 1906 helped connect a mineral-rich settlement to a much larger economic system. More than a century later, Zambia is trying to make that railway system commercially relevant again.

The irony is difficult to miss.

The same town that once grew because of the railway is now waiting to see whether the railway can help it grow again.

But this time there should be no illusion.

Kabwe cannot simply wait for a train to rescue it.

A railway revival would need to be connected to industry, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, logistics, skills development and investment. The tracks can provide the infrastructure, but businesses have to create the economic activity.

The opportunity is there.

ZRL's current strategy targets higher freight volumes. Infrastructure rehabilitation is being pursued. Investment discussions are underway. The Kabwe workshops remain part of the railway system.

The real test will be whether these plans translate from documents and announcements into trains carrying more cargo, workshops becoming busier, businesses opening and young people finding opportunities.

For an older generation of Kabwe residents, that future may sound familiar.

For a younger generation, it could be something entirely new.

Either way, the railway is once again becoming a question worth asking.

Will Kabwe's railway remain a monument to what the town once was—or become part of what Kabwe becomes next?