ZIMBABWE’S state-owned railway operator has opened its network up to private players, including a unit of South Africa’s Grindrod, as it seeks to boost freight volumes that had collapsed after decades of underinvestment.
National Railways of Zimbabwe hauled 12 million tons of cargo annually at its 1990s peak, but now manages less than 3 million tons owing to a lack of locomotives and poor maintenance of its rail infrastructure. The collapse also followed a sharp decline in agricultural and mineral output.