Exploring Africa's Freedom Railway: Tanzania to Zambia on Tazara
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ก.ย. 2024
- The railway, which connected Zambia's copper belt to Tanzania's port of Dar es Salaam shortly after independence, once carried the region's aspirations and dreams. However, it is currently under a state of emergency. Derailments, trains running out of fuel, and mechanical failures occur on a daily basis.
Subscribe to see more full documentaries every week:
bit.ly/2lneXNy
TRACKS publishes unique, unexpected and untold stories from across the world every week.
From "African Railway"
Facebook: / trackstravelchannel
Content licensed from Warner Brothers to Little Dot Studios.
Any queries, please contact us at:
owned-enquiries@littledotstudios.com
To travel on an African train across Africa will be a wonderful experience: friendly people, choir singing African songs and those beautiful sunsets.
Been on that train in 1992 from Dar es Salaam to Mbeya and then hitchhiked on the back of bycicles, pick ups, trucks, dala dalas to Blantyre in Malawi. Best train journey of my life and best hitchhike of my life. Met the most wonderful welcoming people along the way. Greetings from Italy.
God bless you, that's lovely..
Leaving TAZARA issue aside, Cynthia is a great person. She potrays, true african life struggles, joy, hopes and optimism in life. I hope she managed to reach her dreams.
Interesting,I’m Tanzanian my father worked there from 1978 to 2019.Funny thing is I kept watching this documentary until the end hoping to see my father in there but unfortunately he’s not there 😀😀😀
We’re so proud of our hardworking African fathers
I saw this when it was first transmitted on BBC. Looks like a fantastic railway to go for a trip on
My father works for TAZARA, so it is nice to see that you made the effort to document at least in video the condition of the company, i enjoyed it i hope you will come back and do another in the near future so that we can know why we have resources and yet we can not develop as nations in Africa and yet the people running they have all they need and want, we need to keep exposing them of their shameful conducts and hold them accountable.
I lived in Iringa from 64-73, at Mkwawa High School (originally called St Michaels and St Georges), and now renamed Mkwawa University. The Chinese would come into Iringa at weekends and buy up a lot of stuff. They hadnt got the railway going by the time I left, and we all wondered how they would do it because Selous and the escarpment would be difficult.
My first train journey was Dar to Mwanza (my first posting was to a teacher training college in Mwanwa), which took 2.5 days in 1963 with one railway line washout.
At the time the Chinese came into Tanzania to build this Tazara railway, the americans were rebuilding the road (Morogoro, Iringa, Mbeya, and on into Zambia) and tarring it, and the italians had built a pipeline. The copper was coming out in Fiat trucks and they made a hell of a mess of the road.
But I enjoyed almost of my time there
.
that is good they changed the name of the school
@@TKO67 Yes I was there when the school changed it name from St Michels and St Georges, January 64. (Known locally as Twining's folly). I taught physics there for 10 years, and ran the football team, taking most of my time to Dar to represent Iringa in the Sunlight (Taifa) Cup. At the time the chinese were building the railway, the americans were tarring the road from Morogoro through to Tunduma.
Ah yes... the hell run... Dar to Lusaka. I had the 'pleasure' of making that trip as far as Mbeya in a landrover a couple of times. One trip, at the end, the generator had broke off the engine, every guage no longer worked, I was both pissing blood and it was coming out one of my ears. Somehow I survived. The Americans got going on rebuilding the road in 69 because the Chinese were doing the rail route.
When in Tanzania in 1967 I worked for Kilimo. Bwana Rugimbana was director of Agriculture a good man . I recall driving down from Dar es Salaam to Sumbawanga via Iringa , Mbeya. Long dusty road from Morogoro, we transported Breeding Cattle to the local prison. On the way back we sneaked into Zambia and spent a day in Abercorn now Mbala. Loved Tanzania and the friendly smiling people. Would love to go back and sit outside the New Africa Hotel with a Tusker or Kilimanjaro Beer
I am a big fan of train documentaries even if this one is from 2008. I'm sure a lot has changed since this was filmed however I still really enjoyed watching it.
I enjoy watching train documentaries as well. Its so facilitating to learn how people in other countries move around and travel.
is far as i can tell the trains haven't changed since then.
of course not....naive you are....
@@MakeSomeNoisePlaylists hopelessly optimistic
@@MakeSomeNoisePlaylists is this a response to new or to Mat ? Can't see it.
My beautiful Zambians -so sorry to see what has happened to you!
what do you mean? We are fine better than you actually
Mr Station Master reminded me of all the genuine and hardworking people I have came across in Zambia
These documentaries are absolutely amazing. Just fantastic. Travel the world with TRACKS on TH-cam
❤
They are so happy. That is priceless.
That station and master and the other people vibes were beautiful there i think..
I love my Continent Africa....
I love 💕 African documentri
The African have to work hard for themselves. The British, the Chinese and others all come for their own interests.
Don't compare the British and others to the Chinese! The latter just underdeveloped Africa for themselves.
@@yawos9024 So belgian still better than the chinese? Even when they cutting off lots of people hand and feet when the people didn’t meet their rubber quota?
The Chinese at least build road and railways which we can see in exchange for our resources, the West open secret accounts to hide stolen money in their banks. The west also secretly arm so called rebels, Chinese don't do that.
Africa will rise one day but i cant help but giggle at some of the things highlighted
GREAT TRAINS......ALWAYS ON TIME......AND THIS CAN BE CONTRIBUTED TO THE PROFESSIONAL MAINTENANCE TEAM....AND FIRST CLASS MANAGEMENT....
............OH!......WHAT A TRULY WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE IF YOU FORGET ABOUT THE...
GREAT TRAINS
ALWAYS ON TIME
PRO'' MAINTENANCE TEAM
1st CLASS MANAGEMENT .........
WOW......WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO COMMENT ABOUT ??????
NOTHING ELSE EXCEPT THE AFRICAN PEOPLE ARE JUST WONDERFUL HUMAN BEINGS...
AS LONG AS YOU 4GET ABOUT THE WHOLE ENTIRE TRAIN MANAGEMENT TEAM......
Great documentary..... Worth to watch and appreciate.
to the viewers : this video was shot around 2010 ( because he talks about the World Cup in South Africa - 2010) ....its been 12 years ...a lot of changes to TAN-ZAM railways !!!
no, it was 2008. go back to when Shaun asked the railway manager when he got his trophy and the railway manager replied and said 1988, then Shaun said 20 years ago. manager repled, YES.
It is 2008 not 2010
Typical of BBC. Saying problems in every country blaming this and that but never offering anything tangible. Using terms like Chinese experts and describing Tanzanian railway like a toy engine in English school book.. BBC laughed at Tanzania having to borrow money from China but UK never offer any alternative.
BBC is only interested in hearing the negative aspect from the people. The Tanzanian railway was built by Chinese and Tanzanians during the Mao's era when China was economically blockaded by the US for 20 years resulting deaths and famines in China. The railway is owned and run by Tanzanians but BBC still implying China is playing a part in every one of its failings.
My country zambia 🇿🇲 ❤ zambia ku chalo !!
....a very beautiful film....thanks....
I fully enjoyed this episode regardless of silly questions that ppl comment on such as, why he asking about her hair, her wig, I adored Cynthia he met amazing honest ppl on his journey to find out the truth, I do feel for the ppl they are being taken advantage of because of their own ppl greed. But it's survival, all ppl do what they have to to survive. I thank him for this episode and I look forward to another one,
I noted the same. He was not professional at times.
The Days where People used to Smoke on Public Transport.
Priceless documentary.
Cynthia is a major character
Wow nice movie !! 🚂🚃💈🚃💈🚃💈🚃💈🚃💈🚃💈🚃💈🚃💈🚃🚂🚂
I was just watching a video on the new Chinese funded Kenya railroad fiasco and I remembered the Tanzam (tarzar?) Railroad. I was around right at the start of that project as the "Forest Officer Inventory" for Tanzania from 1967 to 1970. As a 22 year old, totally inexperienced Canadian forestry technician with the responsibility to begin the process of inventorying the forest resource for the whole country. I was right there at the start of this railroad because the Chinese had to liaison with me regarding locating timber resources to be used for the railroad. These were the real genuine, little-red-book Chairman Mao communist cadre engineers, not the modern business version. To say this was an interesting experience would be an understatement. Me, being one of those horrid evil westerners had to be approached with extreme caution. At first they would only come and talk to me in groups of 9. This was to make sure none of their number got infected with any western ideas. And then they would only converse in Swahili, in which they spoke the book version, not the rough and ready bush style I knew. Talking to a Chinese in Swahili... yeah it was like that. It was literally like working with robots to start. But after a few meetings and a few journeys into the bush, in which they were constantly worried about the snakes and lions, finally I got a few to crack a smile at my jokes... in swahili of course. Then it got down to just 3 at a time, never less. Somehow they discovered I was human. My tour ended before they had actually got going on construction, but the last odd detail was as I was at the Dar airport walking out to board the Comet... yes literally a Comet... Ethiopian airlines to Cairo... there standing on the parapet were all those Chinese engineers. All waving goodbye. Never have been able to figure if they were glad or sad to see me go!!
Regarding the railroad itself, yes it was built to bypass S. Africa and Ian Smith, and bring out copper, but it also was to replace the "Hell Run" 1200 mile... literally road from hell from Dar to Lusaka that brought out the copper and back hauled oil and fuel. It might have been the most dangerous road in history. I saw 9 dead men, truck drivers, on a single trip to Mbeya, on a dirt road that hadn't ever seen a grader. New Mercedes freight truck... average lifespan one and a half round trips.
Finally on the railroad itself. Exactly the same type of great local people and exactly the same type of inept management I saw every day in my time there. Nothing changes it seems. Even almost 60 years later. At least the truck road looks a lot better. But I bet the truck stops though are the same version of dirty and loud and as full of diseased up pro's plying their trade.
This is an amazing story man and thanks for telling it, that last part makes me think about how in America there’s all this sort of fascination with the ‘trucker’ life that must be there as well, but even more insane with the sort of stories people could tell driving along insanely dangerous roads like that. Everything ive heard about this copper railroad is that it used to be super important in the 70s but even as the Chinese loaned a HUGE sum to build up the infrastructure there, it is barely used at all and has become defunct.
You Sir ,should do a documentary of your own👍...you are part of great history of this railway line
I lived along the Tazara for 5 years in the town Mgololo . I am saddened but not surprised about the decline of the Tazara. Large group endeavors do not fair very well due to cultural conditions. Machinery intensive businesses due even worse due to lack of maintenance.
Maintenance is not understood and the culture does not value skilled tradespeople. There is
no word in Swahili for Maintenance. Organizational structure are hard to established and maintain due to corruption. Being "cleaver" is revered by the culture and it is not understood at all that corruption destroys the organization that provided the opportunity for the corruption in the first place.
Tanzania and its people, who I love dearly, will never have a good material life until they learn to organize and manage corruption free.
Are you sure there’s no word for maintenance . . . . . . . what about kutunza?
All govs are highly corrupted
Tazara badly needs an upgrade. Zambia and Tanzania, work together to upgrade it. New rails and new trains. Come on guys, we can do it.
Like the kenyan rail has been upgraded to the sgr the best so far
2021 China has almost swallowed Zambia.
Not just Zambia
@@NoNopeAndNo where's the source ?
The way that guy was adamantly denying Tizara didn’t go bankrupt in 2008 leads me to that they indeed did go bankrupt in 2008. 😆
Loved this so much
Hope everyone is okay in this mad world 🌎 🙏
That's the issues
Corruption and mismanagement is an African problem. Sometimes leaders have good visions but delivering the vision is the problem. Politicians are not accountable, most of them have no clue about management and they think their work is to make noise and earn more than anyone else.
Very collect...
The African Continent is just lost in the wilderness! It's all about competition.
Beautiful
sitting here in a central albertan city in mid winter knowing i am not traveling soon means such documentaries are a manner of escape
more of this kind of journalism please
BBC should do documentaries on the Genocide in Africa and across The Earth, by England.
We just love your content thank you for joy.
It always remind me of my father. Wonderful experience ! and am just learning that on 7:25 my friend Cynthia hahahaha long time
I do love the video as more especially, one can travel in Africa by train, priceless and God be praised, indeed! Until your next video, I say Bon Voyage! Cheers Khadeeja Alghali-Rahman (London, UK)
Great upload. Interesting to watch. Tnx 4sharing 👍
My Nursary school was just a waiting bay in a Railway station in Kenya Kitale- Eldoret Railway this takes me back in those times.
Thank you for this video. Tanzania Railway Corp could handle this but i guess Zambia was complicit just like Kenya where personal interest overrides national interest. What is clear here is a total lack of work ethic, demoralized staff like what i witnessed in Kenya 30yrs ago as Kenya Railways was systematically brought down like many parastals. Just like in Kenya we have run down everything partly because we have no value nor attach any importance to our nationhood or selves but have this native mindset of basing everything on ethnicity a village way of thinking at a national level. Africa needs new economic reformers with new attitude. Absolutely depressing to watch 60 yrs after most of Africa gained self rule. Who will mentor the next generation?
Many of these Africans countries can do much better by inviting diasporans home and into the Gov't to assist with ideas.. many out there are skilled in the areas the motherland desperately needs help
Nowadays TH-camrs, just like this guy does, have their spesific cameras with them and complete the entire shooting with no cameraman needed. Which is why when I first started watching I thought this was a brand new documentary until the year of trophy was mentioned.
My parents are going to Tanzania in a few weeks. 'Tis gonna be their 1st time in an African country other than Nigeria. I can tell Kwanzaa is observed there!
There is no such thing as Kwanzaa in Africa anywhere.
@@dueldab2117 But it derives from the Swahili word for "harvest". 'Tis a racist holiday!
@@daveotuwa5596 please i m an African and there's no such thing as Kwanza anywhere in Africa. That's something in the USA where everything is about race.. Afro Americans who created such a thing don't even know that thier ancestors where Christians long before Columbus even traveled to to America..
@@sambaemol2476 I'm African-American and Christian but never observe Kwanzaa.
@@sambaemol2476 how the hell would you know what they know ? Shut up Samba
The smile on Mr Station Manager
Respect my brother from Canada 🇨🇦 ❤ 😍 💖 ❣ 💕 💘 ❤ 😍
I friend from Sweden took this rail line 2008 and shared his experience with me in Ghana.I am presently in Tanzania 13yrs later and I am looking to get on the train to Zambia and further down to south if it still around .I need to record my journeys.
Safe and wonderful journeying to you! 💖 🇨🇦
Ghanaian here🇧🇴🇧🇴
It's a sad thing that politicians, businessmen and the public servants who are paid or earning money for their jobs are not doing their jobs.
Here in our country, it's the same thing happening. We're no Africa but we're the same. Elected government officials only care for their own pockets. Every project they have a cut. Every business they have a share.
We had a Chinese train service here too. But the Chinese crews here can't do much for the maintenance because the state runs it and embezels the money.
We used to have Japanese and German trains, same thing happened.
No Chinese or German or even Japan can help because of the mentality of the locals.
I really don't wonder why Chinese had to take over that train service there. It's the only way the service could be maintained and run properly.
If they deny the take over, it's the end for that line.
In actual fact usually the contract between the Chinese and the government never really gave the Chinese full ownership.
Like in our negotiated contract which was rejected by our government because these elected officials will not pocket a dime.
The Chinese will only take it over for a certain period during which time locals will be trained to take over when their contract expires.
I don't really see that China is taking over anything here. It's our own mentality and greed that's killing our rail service along with many other things.
If only we knew which is your country....
29.11.2021.Very good documentary.Thank you.
this host is a proper gent. i dig it
Great vedio
Parabéns pelo vídeo e saudações de Sergipe no Brasil.
The guy covering the documentary tries to put down people sometimes when they are doing the best they can
Asking the guy about his pension over and over was not a good look
Of course he would,he is english!
The man was cracking joke
Almost 13 years old movie it is.. isn't it?
The Chinese were very nice and kind to you because you are white, but great piece of documentary, and so proud of the mother who went back to school,
Very cool, applause!
Cynthia is a such a great person, I wonder how far she has gone now ....
Everything is pointing to one thing, "Mismanagement" even when we had a new government in Zambia under Mr Sata R.I.P , they failed with a Euro bond because of mismanagement. But it has potential.
Wow the incompetence is incredible, we really do sabotage ourselves!
"This train journey was as exhausting as a warzone" okay buddy. you cant just go running your mouth and expect us to believe you.
The" British Empire" superior , condescending attitude ,towards Africans is alive and well, as proven by this documentary.
What are you talking about?
Great documentary.. Maybe tone down on the sarcasm a bit
Hakainde hichilema will sort the mess.
SALAM RAILFANS INDONESIA ❤❤❤
They need to get standard guage and double track and try to attach it so S. Africa and then north to Kenya soon as possible!!!
Africa is a diverse continent. That should be titled Zambian and Tanzanian Railway.
May ❤God💜 Be 💛With 💙Everyone 💜Always 💛Much 💙Love Blessings💚 Always ✌ 💯 🌈 🎇 🌐 💜💜💚💚💚💜💛💙
Beautiful & informative
I really wish Africa all the best. The resources are there but the future isn’t clear yet. Chinese definitely have no good intentions but it’s our soil we will fight back for what belongs to Africans
U must again visit n mk again documentery on same at present time.
Great documentary and such amazing people. My problem is just this guys condescending attitude towards the workers of Tazara. We make do with little We have...thats the African mentality
If I remember correctly, this railroad was first known as Tanzam and it was built by Chairman Mao’s China.
I love Africans.
Sukumar India.
The train is moving millions of dollars worth of copper but stull it run out of fuel? We Africans truly are a comedic bunch.
I love how the wife walked in good documentary.
Great for development for human being
I must say it does look a little odd and out of place to see Chinese workers in an African country, nevertheless I love the motherland and hope to visit one day, possibly meet Jessica 😀 ❤
So you want to tell me there is no Africans who can build a highway.
we have the west for 500 years, what did we get?????????.
@@Time364 Colonized and deprived of wealth and enslaved afeicans. sad stories in history.
Cool
Why is he asking those women about their hair. Would he ask a white woman about her hair. That’s personal and he’s disrespectful.
M I - I was very annoyed by that line of questioning as well. I am surprised he didn’t attempt to touch their hair, as so many whites people (especially white women) like to do.
Its a okay,he wanted to start a conversation '
Extremely condescending documentary.
Haggling over Pennies while billions of dollars worth of copper is going out of the country
Oh Africa, weep for thy beloved. For strangers have taken hold of her, laying barren her womb. woe unto the man that dare rescues her
I just hate the way he approaches the people in his documentary
Beautiful Train Video,
African corruption meets chinese debt trap. Match made in heaven 🤣🤣
🤣🤣
Thank you for this filming this African leaders need to change there behaviors on matter of its people.. So someone Should stay 20hrs because of train mechanic problem surely?
Classic statement of the whole video starts @ 41:30
I have alot of questions.....they should have had someone else doing this documentary. Don't ask a black woman is that her hair or is it a wig. It look like he mad some of them rather uncomfortable they are struggling daily. N u come with a camera filming their poverty to make yourself wealthy
I like ur channel so much
This country is rich in natural resources, specifically copper. However, copper, tons of it are mined by the Chinese.. and sent to China. Profits from the export are never accounted. Too bad the people there suffers from poverty. Trains lack fuel and no spare parts when it breaks down. Who is to blame for this stark and sad reality there?
Africa needs much efforts in order to be, first of all eradication and reckonning of corrupt leaders and politicians....
Africans and Africa is the only region of the world that human beings are evolving. Hear me out!
For the same reason that Darwin s theory of evolution, now a scientific fact has been forgotten by its proponents. In the last century Asia including china was the cooking pot of human struggle, this century has been reserved for Afrika and Afrikans. You can see the struggle against all odds playing out in Afrika. They retain the smile and vitality, the fuel of progress.
The furture belongs to Afrikans.
We live, we love, sing dance and survive. we shall outlive this, the neo colonialism, the materialism, the selfishness and greed. I salute the young beautiful mothers in this documentary, strong beautiful and resilient, the future of humanity. The wont die of obesity or mental stress anytime soon, COVID has since come and passed on Africa weathered it like no other continent, mothers of Afrika.
They have got alongway to go
In my country train max passenger coaches is 8 using diesel locomotives from the general electrics motor USA called cc201 and cc203 service an economy class but the express is using a cc206 and stainless steel coaches because in Indonesian the railway is almost every thing was caught by a mountain
A really very sad story. Ordinary people are poor and simple exploited by corrupt officers and greedy investors
Good coverage Mr. Camera man
The fist one minute has made me laugh already TAzara even has PR 😂😅and that old woman is lying 😂😂it written all over her facev
why is everybody so happy and friendly ?