The Mukuba Express stayed in motion for eight hours and stopped in a small village about 50 miles west of the Tanzania-Zambia border. “We'll be there soon,” the mechanic told me, but the locomotive had derailed and the repair equipment was miles away.
I took the historic Tanzania-Zambian Railway (Tazara) Express train in the central town of Zambia, Kapili Muposi, so I was on the train for two days. Despite the delay, life continued. The kids played soccer by the side of the truck, the women sold mangoes, and dozens of cheerful passengers ate fried greens and ugari dishes in the restaurant car.
Seeing travelers, locals and workers continue around the stuck train, I thought that African railways have long been shaped by forces far beyond the passengers they serve. From colonial trucks to foreign-funded megaprojects today, railways have always been more than just transportation. They were tools of influence, competition and control.
Tazara is one of many railway projects built or funded in East Africa by foreign forces over the past 150 years. From the early stages of colonization until today, foreign investment supports most rail infrastructure, providing not only the capacity to transport as needed, but also strong ships of foreign control. In recent years, non-African governments have poured billions of dollars in funding to African railway projects, competing for access to natural resources, political capital and economic management.
There is fierce competition in southern Africa. It is proposed to unlock access to key minerals in the Congo and cobalt rich Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zambia, comparable to US- and China-backed railway redevelopment projects. US support project, lobito hallwayIt also proposes a redeveloped railway that is supported by the European Union and runs east from the Port of Lobito on the Atlantic coast of Angola to the Copper Belt region of Zambia, with links with DRC Kolwezi. The project will rebuild the existing Benguera Railway, which operates along most of the same route.
Tazara Station, located in Choj, northeastern Zambia, shows the faded grandeur of the original railway infrastructure, while still remaining an important commercial hub. Photo: Samuel W. Yankee.
Tazara, which stretches from Dar es Salaam in the Indian Ocean to Kapilimposi in central Zambia, was built by the Chinese government in the 1970s, linking Zambian copper ore exports to Tanzania's port cities and bypassing South Africa and Rodesia. In September 2024, the heads of states from Tanzania, Zambia and China signed Memorandum of Understanding For 30 years of redevelopment and management, for Tazara's complete concessions to the state-owned Chinese Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation.
These new proposed projects reflect the colonial era of railway construction, during which agents in Britain, Portugal, Belgian, and Germany built lines to send troops and managers to bring out goods, often with forced or forced labor. In fact, Kenya's Standard Gauge Railway, completed in 2017, closely tracks the route of the British-made Uganda Railway, completed in 1902, facilitating the movement of troops to the source of the Nile River. Tazara, although built in the 1970s, follows a route investigated by British and German missions during Tanganyika's colonial rule (now Tanzania).
Although passengers and products on the railway today have been changed, the shared route is not the only connection to the past. Like its colonial predecessors, today's foreign-supported railway projects often bring enormous concessions, including mining rights, land trade and long-term management of major transport corridors.
Tazarathirnus of Zambia's New Capilimposie holds first, second and third class divisions, which are holdovers from the colonial railway authorities of the early 20th century. Photo: Samuel W. Yankee.
For many Zambians, Tazara represents more than a container of exports. It is a lifeline for rural communities and their residents. Larry Banda, a school teacher who rode the Tazara train from Kapili Mposi to Dar es Salaam, visited his family, pursued his own education and now he rides the railway for the rest of his life to teach others. “Now, the railroad lines are extremely unreliable due to the challenges facing the company, as they cannot maintain schedules, age their infrastructure and reduce capacity,” Banda explained. “Therefore, few people choose to use railroad lines.”
This erosion of trust in the reliability of railways has important implications. Tazara was essential to opening many communities to the outside world, allowing for agricultural education, healthcare and access to markets. As Banda pointed out, the redevelopment of Tazara by Chinese companies has prompted extensive debate in Zambia. There is a lot of optimism among those who view this project as a path to economic and social transformation. With smoother operations, better accessibility and job creation promises, many hope that regeneration will make meaningful changes to their lives. Banda expressed her hopes for Tazara to be renewed.
Revitalization regains customer confidence…(and) leads to more economic and social transformation in people's lives, especially in remote areas that are only accessible by rail. Unfortunately, it's a shame that students and students cannot use the train every day to go to their respective schools. The redevelopment of Tazara may allow students and students to go to school (from home).
However, not all Tazara users share this optimism. Simon Siame, a farmer and entrepreneur who returns home by train from a business trip, highlighted the dark side of China's infrastructure investment. “In Zambia, loans from China are causing a lot of problems. They got one airport and a copper mine because the government couldn't pay back the money,” Siame said. “The Chinese are not playing. They will acquire the assets of the country and control it… That's the problem with China's lending. The cost of living is increasing, making it difficult for people to survive.”
The Zambian government has struggled ever since defaulting on its debts during the Covid-19 pandemic. China is still the province The largest official creditorand the two countries are in negotiations to restructure their outstanding debts.
A thousand miles northeast of where Kenya's Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) boarded Tazara, we get a glimpse into what the Chinese-led railway redevelopment looks like. Completed in 2017, the SGR reflects the market-driven modernization of railway lines, which has been considered the country's major commercial arteries for over 100 years. At the same time, it is a precaution on the costs of doing business with Chinese state partners. Original contract between China's Export and Import Bank and the Kenyan government 3.8 billion dollar loans allowed For building lines. Since the loans reached maturity in 2020, the Kenya government and the Kenya Railway Corporation (KRC) have struggled to pay. KRC Reported in 2023 operation year The prominent balance of Kenyan Shilling's China loan of 617 billion is equivalent to approximately $4.788 billion in 2025.
The Kenyan government's light letter can be seen as a warning to the Zambian and Tanzanian governments prior to Tazara's concessions. The failure to pay the SGR loan caused political upheavals and economic tensions, forcing emergency financial measures that sparked widespread unrest. The huge debts of the Kenyan government It stands at about 68% of GDP. It was a major factor behind the controversial financial bill passed in June 2024, aimed at raising taxes in the service of citizen debt. The bill has widespread protests and Rejection by Cabinets almost all across the country.
As Kenya is still struggling to serve debt, the question looms: Can Zambia have less than a third of Kenya's GDP, so can it afford to follow this lead?
Even while Kenya was working on the outcome of the SGR partnership, the redeveloped railway served. As I rode the SGR from Mombasa to Nairobi, an orderly line of passengers sitting next to a Chinese businessman in an air-conditioned cabin left the end of Mombasa on a schedule and boarded the sparkling orange and white train that had arrived in Nairobi on a schedule.
Several fellow passengers I spoke to praised the comfort and convenience of the new line, in contrast to the previous narrow gauge service that had been running almost continuously since the opening of the line in 1902.
While China's railroad diplomacy controls the headlines, the US has also reached the infrastructure race. The US government has Pledged $883 million Towards loans to the Lobito Atlantic Railway and the African Finance Corporation, the Lobito Atlantic Railway project through the US International Development Finance Corporation. The project is seen as a key offset to China's aggressive infrastructure investment strategy and provides an alternative to regional governments that pay attention to China's impact and aggressive lending.
However, the project currently faces major hurdles due to both the rapidly growing conflict between the DRC government and the M23 rebel group and the changes in the US domestic policy. January 20, 2025, New US President Donald Trump An executive order has been issued “The US foreign aid industry and bureaucracy claim that it is not consistent with American interests and often against American values. They will help destabilize world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly inverted to domestic and domestic harmony and stable relationships.” So Trump has frozen all foreign aid and development aid, leaving projects like the Reut Corridor in Limbo.
The Lobito project is clearly a professional business, but it opens the door to promoting access to critical minerals and expanding US investment, but the next step is still visible. To succeed in places where previous rail projects have become unstable, the Trump administration must balance commercial viability with the needs of local stakeholders.
As this new railway race for Africa unfolds, interests go far beyond strategic competition and natural resources. These decisions shape the daily reality of millions of passengers like Banda and Siame, and determine whether they can ensure they can reach schools, markets and opportunities. Will the Lobito corridor and the updated Tazara line really be useful to those who depend on them? Or do they prioritize foreign interests while local priorities remain aftermarket?
