Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) says it regrets the death of one person following a fatal accident involving a goods train and a light truck that occurred at the Kapiri Mposhi Rail crossing in the early hours of this morning.
ZRL Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Christopher Musonda said the hearts of the railway firm are with the family of the unidentified truck driver who perished in the accident.
Addressing a press briefing in Kabwe today, Mr Musonda said the accident happened at around 02: 00 hours when a Scania Light Truck registration number AIB 1608 that was carrying assorted merchandise rammed into a Zambia Railways Goods Train number 0422 carrying 26 wagons of Sulphur destined for Ndola.
The CEO said the truck driver died on the spot while two other passengers suffered severe injuries.
He said the light truck was extensively damaged while the Zambia Railways locomotive and four wagons where affected.
Meanwhile, Mr Musonda has assured business clients that their goods will be secured during this period and that everything is being done to ensure that normal operations resume in the shortest possible time.
And ZRL Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Christopher Musonda said there is need for drastic measures to prevent further loss of life and property through road carnage.
He observed that accidents involving trucks hitting into trains are worrisome and require concerted efforts of the stakeholders including the Road Transport and safety Agency (RTSA) and the Trucker’s Association of Zambia to avoid more loss of lives and property.
Mr Musings said “……said the hearts of the railway firm are with the family of the unidentified truck driver who perished in the accident.” How can the heart of the company be with the family of deceased! What Musonda meant was the manager and staff were with the daily in their hearts! Sadly we all empathize with the family! MYSRIP
If there is one problem in zambia it is that we never learn from mistakes.
When a fuel tanker was hit on this same spot many years ago there was a lot said than done today we are still talking about this spot?
What a bunch of useless people we are! Build a fly over period and solve the problem!
We shouldn’t be building silly bridges like the one at Manda hill!
Let me get this right..accident happened at the crossing? So did the driver not see the warning lights flashing or were they not working?
Do we have warning lights at all rail crossings in Zambia? If they are there, they must be very few of them because I personally have never seen one. Especially in places like Kapiri Mposhi.
Then ZRL and the local council are to blame ..how on earth can a HGV driver know that the coast is clear. Please lawyers get hold of the driver’s family and take them to the cleaners, it seems no one takes responsibility anymore!!
So who is to blame here? The blame is squarely on the local authority, ZR, RDA and Ratsa for not having the proper rail crossing barricades and warning system in place! In a fair world the families of the victims can and should sue Ratsa, the local council of Kapiri, RDA and Zambia Railways for this failure- a sharp lawyer could take the case and such a case would set a precedent for other severe cases of negligence on the part of authorities tasked to manage such infrastructure- it could even see the Ratsa CEO losing his job and if it results in a proper rail crossing being erected then better some fat bellies are fired or jailed for such negligence! Why are they just following drivers when they themselves are at fault!
Brother negligence is the culture and name of the game in Zambia with regards to public safety, management and general affairs.
It’s a sad situation indeed where our country is right now in history..
Flashing Lights used to be at this crossing…but Copper Cables were vandalised. What was done instead was to build ridges on the road…these are meant as warning that one is approaching a railway line or junction…they can also jolt a sleeping driver ….
But sadly most accidents happen because people believe they can beat the train…
Interesting..
Vandalism is rife in zambia, so that spot needs serious redevelopment by constructing a fly over bridge.