THE COPPERBELT UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING Mpika campus ER 560 research report Submitted by Edmond Similindi Sin ……………..17111532 Year of study ……five(5) Program… ……….MR Research tile; Improvement of Freight Transport in Zambia Course lecture; Ms K Kawonga ABSTRACT Given the overtime decline in rail freight volumes in Zambia, this review explores key measurable innovations, in rail freight transportation that will improve rail logistics efficiency in Zambia. A systematic approach was used in this review to select and extract data from published journal articles and experienced railmen. Journal articles included were only those that showed and reported impact of key innovations on various rail freight efficiency outcomes. CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... 2 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 4 RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVE ........................................................................................... 4 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................... 4 CHALLENGES FACED BY THE ZAMBIAN RAILWAYS ....................................................... 5 SOLUTIONS TO THE CHALLENGES ........................................................................................ 6 BENEFITS OF FREIGHT TRANSPORT ..................................................................................... 6 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 7 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................... 7 INTRODUCTION Railway freight transport is defined as the transportation of goods from one point to another over time and space by rail. In Zambia we have two rail industries that specialize in transportation goods among other services. The competitiveness of these industries is driven by the effectiveness of the freight transportation systems (lee, 1999). A country’s railway transport infrastructure has traditionally created an unmatched country-level competitive advantage by enhancing access to local, regional and international markets for business Competitiveness is in turn influenced by the effectiveness of freight operations in delivering goods. Rail is recognized as having the least environmental impact in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. The railway freight is currently poor (john, 1999). A massive shift of freight from rail to road has resulted in significantly higher proportions of freight being transported due many factors. RESEARCH AIM AND OBJECTIVE The aim of this research is to publish measures necessary to improve Zambia freight transportation. The objectives of this study are To Explore existing freight transportation in Zambia To highlight measures and means Zambia can put in place in order to improve its freight transport. LITERATURE REVIEW Freight transportation has reduced very quickly in Zambia owing to a number of reasons, it has affect a lot businesses related to rail industries, government and individual businesses.it has led to delayed economic growth and expanding international trade. However, it has also been deemed as relatively inefficient. The inefficiencies can be attributed to many factors, including Technology and Automation, Investment in infrastructure, police and regulatory framework and Operational Management Since freight transport demand is derived from economic activities that are expected to grow in the future as well, improving efficiency in the freight transport sector has important implications for sustainable transport development in general. In the current literature, the past trends and characteristics of domestic freight transportation in the Zambia were examined (shimishi, 2007). Figure 1 freight( chin, 2009) CHALLENGES FACED BY THE ZAMBIAN RAILWAYS Challenges faced by TAZARA are similar to the challenges faced by Zambia railways limited (ZRL) specific to the freight transportation. These challenges can be categorized into 4 main groups as follows. The challenges faced by railway freight transportation in Zambia can be categorized in the following types. Technology and Automation Investment Operational Management Policy and regulatory frame work; Tackling these challenges systematically would mean improving the freight transportation in Zambia. SOLUTIONS TO THE CHALLENGES Investment; the government of Zambia puts less emphasis and support for Zambia railways and Tanzania-Zambia railways unlike china which's diverts 30% of its annual budget for railway industry Operational Management; the Zambian railway companies make more money from freight transportation than any other services they offer but they press less premium on innovations and maintenance of the coaches and the track. Policy and or Regulatory Framework; currently there no framework and regulatory police to govern the operations of railway freight. If the government can regulate the tonnage of goods moved by the road to a certain ton and beyond which, the goods must go by rail. This will enhance the rail freight business and save roads from excessive loads Technology and Automation; the current stage of technology at Zambian railways for freight transport is limited in terms of speed, carrying capacity and signaling system. Therefore, enhancing these factors according will really improve the freight transportation in Zambia BENEFITS OF FREIGHT TRANSPORT Easy of line; we have access to the goods and services we need, we don’t have just to rely on the locally produced Economic; its acts as a source of employment. For example, more than 10 million jobs in USA are related to freight transport Source of GDP, the country benefits from freight transportation through taxes that are imposed on the railway industry Political, it unites the people of different provinces, political parties and nationalism mentality of different minds CONCLUSION Freight transportation is dependent on economic activities. However, it also causes a great burden on the environment through harmful emissions. As freight transportation demand depends mainly on economic activities, it is thought that the increase in the economic activities of Zambia grows the efficiency of the freight transport. RECOMMENDATIONS I there recommend that for effect and efficient freight transport, the rail industries of Zambia must consider investing in infrastructure and the rolling stock and working with the government to implement truckload limit. REFERENCES 1. john, m. (1999). ministry of transport and communication. korea 2. lee, s. (1999). Comprehensive policy measures for invironment friendly transport. 3. shimishi, s. (2007). Rail infrastructure development . mpika.
