Coal-Laden NRZ Train Derails In Kadoma After Heavy Rainfall
A National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) goods train, transporting coal, derailed at Jangano near Kadoma on Sunday.
The incident occurred after Kadoma experienced heavy rainfall on Saturday night, which led to the accumulation of mud at a level crossing. The mud build-up covered the tracks, which ultimately caused the train to derail.
According to NRZ, the wet weather conditions, combined with the mud blocking the tracks, created unsafe conditions for the train, leading to the derailment.
The train’s load remained intact and no one was injured in the derailment.
NRZ workers have been on site to assess the damage and begin the process of clearing the tracks. Crews have also been working to remove the derailed train and restore normal operations. NRZ said:
Our recovery team has managed to move the derailed wagons from the derailment site with their contents (coal) intact to the station. The team is now simultaneously busy with aligning the tracks and re-railing of the locomotive.
Kadoma experienced heavy rains (115mm in less than 12 hours) on Saturday night, this resulted in mud accumulating at the level crossing thus covering the tracks which then caused the train to derail. Fortunately, no one was injured due to this derailment.
Commenting on the incident, journalist Hopewell Chin’ono said the country’s rail system has become “rotten” after decades of neglect and mismanagement. He wrote on X:
I am no longer surprised when I hear stories of train derailments in Zimbabwe, like this one near Kadoma today.
The railway system is rotten, yet it used to be better than the British railway system in the 1960s.
As you can see, it no longer has railway sleepers, a basic necessity for basic railway systems for them to be safe.I wonder what goes through the heads of our political leaders in government, they drive million-dollar Maybach limousines yet the railway system that is supposed to drive business is broken like this.
It is as embarrassing as it is tragic! Thank God nobody died in this accident. No country prospers without a decent railway network.
You can chant as many slogans as you want and bootlick the president as much as you like, but without a modern railway system, you are a banana republic!
