Zambia and Zimbabwe Sign $2B Deal for Regional Rail
On 11 April 2026, Zimbabwe and Zambia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the construction of a regional railway line linking the Lion’s Den in Zimbabwe to Kafue in Zambia. Zimbabwean Minister of Transport Felix Mhona and his Zambian counterpart Frank Tayali signed the MoU. The signing ceremony took place on the sidelines of the Emerging Railways Conference at Victoria Falls.
“I am delighted that I got my counterpart this year, my brother. We mandated, it was very clear from our two great leaders, and in particular, President Mnangagwa, our visionary leader. We have been championing the issues to do with the #Vision2030ZM agenda, where we are going to be having an upper middle income society as a map.”
Zimbabwe Transport Minister Felix Mhona
The railway line is 311 kilometers in length, of which 217 is in Zimbabwe and 94 kilometers is in Zambia. The railway will utilized the 1067-mm Cape Gauge, with provisions for future upgrade to Standard Gauge. The cost of the project is estimaed at around USD 2.2 billion
It passes though key conglomerations in Zimbabwe, including the Lion’s Den, Chakuti, Denis, Makuti, Hurungwe National Park and Chirundu on the border. On the Zambian side, it will go through Chrirundu, Chinkankata, Mazabuka, before terminating at Kafue. The railway line with run parallel to the highway. In total, 16 stations and two marshalling yards will be constrcted along the line. The Chirundu Border Post will be upgraded to a full-fledged One-Stop Border Post to facilitate crossings.
“The railway route will reduce transit distances significantly — 800 kilometres shorter from Zambia to the port of Beira as opposed to going via the North-South corridor, 1 000 kilometres shorter than the distance to South African ports, and 500 kilometres shorter than the distance to the port of Dar es Salaam. This will lower transport and logistics costs and enhance rail competitiveness across the region.”
Zimbabwe Ministry of Transport PS Joy Makumbe