World's Most Dangerous Railway Tracks | The Tazara, Tanzania-Zambia Railway | Free Documentary

[Music] in the 1970s a rail line was built in africa at enormous expense by china the train rolls over 320 bridges from tanzania to zambia it is called tazzara a technical masterpiece in a wild and pristine landscape the tazara connects the port city of dar es salaam with kapiri umposhi in zambia the 1860km route makes the landlocked country independent of the apartheid ruled countries of east africa dar es salaam is the economic and cultural center of tanzania with the largest port in east africa the city of millions on the indian ocean is developing into a modern metropolis the city vibrates with dynamic entrepreneurial spirit and the desire for commerce mobility is the order of the day road traffic plays a major role but the villages far from the big city are still served by rail [Music] the largest train station is indari alam half a million passengers are handled here annually most of the passengers travel third class a ticket for the entire route costs 28 one for the first class sleeping car 40 euros as much as an average monthly salary the security measures are strict every piece of luggage is checked and plastic bags are prohibited the reason environmental protection despite the threat of punishment not everyone complies with the new law [Music] in the 21st century the station has the most diverse functions from the waiting room to the backdrop of an improvised fashion shoot let's go the journey from dara salam to kapirim poshi takes around 50 hours the express train covers the distance in 42 hours the locomotive is manned by a team of two which is changed eight times on the track for safety reasons watch out engine driver william liu yalu knows the dangers [Music] what should we do we should be extra extra vigilant and be careful especially when killing passengers you're carrying human lives to be very attentive again careful the small farmers hoped that the tazara would bring them the freedom they had long been looking for they finally wanted to be independent from white oppression the tessara is therefore more than just a railway also for catholic priest aloysius the train is still a symbol of afro-asian solidarity other countries in africa that we are not yet liberated from colonialism and most of them do in the southern part of tanzania like rolacea which is now zimbabwe and the other one is south africa so who is the liberation the road out of addiction was arduous [Music] the chinese african team spent six years building the train line one hundred thousand chinese and african workers cleared the way for the rails with machetes even old pastures of the maasai were sacrificed for the freedom railway ending their worldly secluded life in nature in the midst of one of the oldest forests in the world the kazim zumbui forest tree after tree fell for the lonely mzenga train station several times a day the tazara was supposed to stop here cater to travellers and some would even spend the night here but the dreams have been shattered and the rails are empty necessity makes these villagers inventive without further ado the rail line is converted into a road and the rail vehicle into an ambulance it's the only way for this sick woman to get to a doctor quickly [Music] for the love of their liberty railway the railway workers are here to stay the loyal men still make regular trips to check the tracks discarded wheel sets or railway ties lie admonishingly at the edge of the rails when the tazara train arrives the train station comes to life the inhabitants of the kazin zumwi forest hurried to do a good business during the short stop they offer the travelers homemade snacks such as roasted peanuts or fried dumplings and drinks a welcome opportunity to supplement the slim budget a little [Music] making people full and happy was the idea behind the largest infrastructure project of the 1970s in africa tanzania and zambia are still among the poorest countries in the world there is a lack of funds to make travel safe and comfortable english teacher homemay hatchuba and her family would rather take the comfortable bus but it's even more expensive because the program is very poor the program is bad for the trend yeah it's just because i didn't have enough money because i am not alone i am traveling to the phone with my parents and my brothers before i have to sponsor them that's why i'm using this stretch [Music] after all the tazara reaches a speed of 110 kilometers per hour on the plane the equivalent of a german regional train often the third class compartments are overcrowded and passengers have to make do standing between the compartments will the exclusive view on the landscape compensate shortly after um the tazara reaches the celus game reserve [Music] at around 52 000 square kilometers the reserve is the largest game reserve in africa and the second largest on earth unlike tanzania's other national parks commercial big game hunting is allowed in the rugged celus game reserve only the non-hunting areas in the north are accessible to safari tourists i like to ride this train because then i can see our animals in general it's good to take the train it reduces the stress in the head and so i arrive at home very early finding the right path for the railway tracks in the middle of the savannah was a great challenge the encounter with wild animals brings dangers with it going on a safari tour with the tazara remains an adventure [Music] when i'm operating the train actually i have to see i have to see at a certain distance to see that the line is clear if i find that the animal is crossing i have to slow down to allow the animals to cross safely and if it happens that i meet them by accidentally we've got also horns and we've got also some yeah bells on the bezel so do we caution them and some of the animals which are usually on the line they are very much aware of the train these monkeys make a quick getaway but large animals like elephants have derailed more than one train for train drivers that means always stay alert [Music] about 200 kilometers after dara salam the train reaches the railway station kizaki already at the beginning of the 19th century an important meeting point for the caravans of arab traders and slave hunters the socialist planned economy predicted a great future for kizaki not much of that has remained the trains run infrequently their arrival time is unpredictable the timetable is therefore recorded on a board with washable chalk as a precaution the employees open the packing and weighing station although no one knows if and when a train will arrive today the daily business becomes a test of patience on some days the announcement changes every hour today the tazara is already eight hours late that doesn't stop anyone from ticketing there's no better way to get away from here anyway the families of the railway workers are often also traders and small farmers in the 1970s they bought land and believed in a good business with corn potatoes or rice the tezara gave people hope of a regular income of building a future for themselves and their children [Music] but it is precisely the small stations that are being closed by the railway company and the employees laid off the expected upswing along the railway line has failed to materialize the train is expensive and not profitable the modern age has not yet arrived at the stations due to the lack of money actually here the train should be handled by the telephone block system but this important machine has not been working for a long time signals telecommunication systems or simply cables everything has been stolen or dismantled in kizaki station master christopher um panda and his colleague simon um fungo are responsible for a safe train handling i have almost forgotten how this machine works the chinese brought it with them with it we controlled the entrance and exit of the trains we call it calling here the next station answers and tells you that in the next 24 hours at 8 o'clock the first train will arrive we set up since the machine is broken train dispatching now runs via cell phone often there's no network but still it works somehow the fear of wild animals is greater than that of a train accident i've only been here for a month and i'm not used to the wild animals yet whenever i go out and handle a train the loudest are elephants or hyenas i make a lot of noise and make them go away but when i hear the trumpeting of an elephant i quickly go back to get my colleagues it's less dangerous if we do the work together each train is sent out manually also the so-called shawmer an auxiliary vehicle used for track inspections and transportation of workers the tazara is still not in sight so even the film team is allowed to continue the ride with the shawma [Music] to the north-west of kizaki mikumi national park borders the celus game reserve together they form an ecosystem of almost thousand square kilometers in contrast to other national parks in tanzania the mikumi is still relatively unknown and can be discovered individually [Applause] the african crocodile is not as harmless as it looks it grows up to six meters long and hunts reptiles fish birds and even humans mikumi national park is surrounded by towering mountains and forested foothills to the east the ulu guru towers high while to the south the lumango can be seen from kizaki to ifakara the train runs through an inaccessible area and according to the timetable always only at night seeing the beauty of this route by day is the exception along the foothills of the mikumi and uzungwa mountain national parks the tazara river traverses a fertile flood plain over a stretch of nearly 200 kilometers here too people settled in the 70s to build up their own business and to work for the railway they took care of the security of the stations and railway lines [Music] after almost 40 years the population still has to learn to live with the railway since no one knows when the next train will really arrive its danger is fundamentally underestimated even after 40 years an accident on the tracks a rail vehicle collided with a moped fortunately the driver remains uninjured the train crossings are unpaved and accidents happen again and again because someone parks his moped on the tracks now it's taken by shawmer to the nearest train station and hand it over to the police everyone is happy to have escaped with a scare once again the route between limba the kingdom of elephants and macam the place of bulls measures 158 kilometers and poses the greatest challenge of the entire route to the builders of the railway a short journey into the past one hundred thousand men fight against the dense forest the whole area is difficult to survey on loamy paths they haul all the equipment up the mountains and back down again 330 000 tons of steel rails alone have to be laid along the route sleepers and bridge sections are produced in tent camps 24 hours a day the work involves the construction of 46 bridges and 18 tunnels on this short stretch alone the heavy rainfall in this area is a major challenge complicated drainage systems are to prevent landslides and derailments [Music] surveyors use chainsaws and machetes to clear a path through the dense forest the entire area is sparsely populated the men are completely on their own the tunnels are propelled with explosives the teams are under extreme tension the whole world is watching the construction of this rail line more than 3 000 workers are responsible for the tunnels alone 17 of them are killed during the construction period the last section of the most dangerous route runs along the foothills of the mufindi highlands the area is one of the coldest regions in tanzania in some places snow even falls in june [Music] the changeable climate and the rainy season put the bridges to a severe test rust gnaws away at the iron railings no one can control what happens deep in the concrete over the long term at some points on this dangerous route the tazara reduces its speed to 20 kilometers per hour for safety reasons the technical details of the showcase project are kept secret to this day for fear of attacks and acts of sabotage there is no budget for comprehensive security measures using simple means the track builders find out if the rails are okay or need to be repaired fred engeve places stones on the rails this way he can check whether they have sunk or lifted and need to be repaired i love my work it allows me to send my children to school and pay their school fees also i can meet my family's needs and buy clothes through my work here i can afford it i put stones on the rails because i want to see where it has sunk this one is too deep i have to there is a great danger that the wheel will jump off the rail and the train will derail the tazara employees have a hard time keeping the train in good shape [Music] the engines and wagons built in china often break down and cannot be repaired the old locomotives barely managed to drag the long train up the steep mountains they literally run out of air [Music] but even with the six new diesel locomotives from china passenger and freight traffic is not without problems the fact that the tesara is still running at all is a small miracle for some travellers for a long time an additional problem with superstition the teacher nicholas nyundo remembers that the country people believed that the train would anger the forest spirits therefore the tazara gave them the creeps people believed that was eating people so they did not know anything about it because it was very new to them they they did not see it before so they believed that were eating people but they did not know that this is the mode of transport which they can use to move from one place to another whenever i see sometimes i was even learning from where i was going to my parents or even get inside their home just to hide myself when it is passing the landscapes the tazara traverses are anything but neutral they're full of spiritual meaning the chinese cannot know them as the builders reshape this landscape they disturb sacred sites and the position of power of the village chiefs ghost stories are told of trees that are cut down for the railway but stand upright again in their old place the next day of bridges that have just been built that collapse and tunnels that close again as if by magic so [Music] only when the chinese listen to the advice of the local guides do all the problems disappear as if by magic today no one has to be afraid on the tazara in the past acts of sabotage thefts and accidents made rail travel dangerous for people but safety on the tazara has improved significantly each train carries a mobile police station so that crimes can be recorded and prosecuted immediately a large part of the route the train crosses at night a time that you can comfortably travel in the sleeper car six sleeper compartments in first and second class are part of the standard equipment of the tazara tourists in particular enjoy the luxury of the four bed cabins and let themselves be lulled to sleep by the steady rattling of the rails [Music] after 850 kilometers by train the railway reaches umbaya in the southern highlands of tanzania here the tazara crosses the great african rift valley a fissure in the earth that stretches for six 000 kilometers from syria to mozambique lake nyasa this is the name of the lake in tanzania it belongs to the great lakes in the east african rift valley the third largest lake in africa borders tanzania malawi and mozambique over a thousand different species of fish cavort in this stagnant body of water more than in all of north america and europe combined with a length of 560 kilometers a width of up to 80 kilometers and a maximum depth of 704 meters it is a giant of inland waters lake nyasa was formed several million years ago making it one of the oldest lakes in the world [Music] people live from and with the lake even superstition has to do with fish in the past women were forbidden to fish to make them feel good they had to be given fish otherwise so the belief it was possible that they would hide fish as witches and conjure up floods if no fish were caught for a long time witch doctors so-called chikangas were called in to solve the mystery of the missing fish heading north from mathema the impressive livingstone mountains are on the right named after the scottish african explorer david livingstone who traveled to lake nyasa as early as the mid-19th century according to his will my heart is in africa his servants buried his heart at this place after his death [Music] hey [Music] [Applause] during sunday services people forget their worries for a brief moment [Music] in their songs they praise god who can make anything possible if only they praise him firmly enough and believe in him well knowing that religion is the food for the soul but only hard work ensures their survival [Applause] oh [Applause] [Music] farmers used the fertile mountains along the east african rift valley for large-scale tea and rice cultivation [Music] in the valleys smallholders have been planting bananas and cocoa among other crops on their plots for over 100 years since artificial agricultural products are not available they have been producing genuine organic cocoa since time immemorial completely without fertilizers or other chemicals their incomes are low just enough for the bare necessities family planning is in the hands of the women as is the care and the upbringing of the children contraception is frowned upon in this patriarchal society five to six children are common because having children is considered life insurance and retirement provision [Music] near lake nyasa lives cocoa farmer erika sibila in a project financed by a belgian chocolate manufacturer she can buy land and learn how to manage a plantation in a sustainable way she wants to improve life for everyone in the village her most important goal however is a good education for her children but i'm also pulling up a small business i sell mandazi fried pasta and also salt big traders at the market then sell it on i myself do not go to the big markets or by train diseases i look forward to the years when my children can read i hope that i will succeed in building a good home for them my brother has already passed away and i also help his children and pay for their tuition i pray to god to give me a long life from the sleepy region at lake nyasa the railway line is easily accessible via an expressway for many small farmers this is an opportunity to promote trade with their products [Music] the tazara crosses the border into zambia from mumbai at route kilometer 1068 the train reaches the small market town of chozi from here it is only about 200 kilometers to the provincial capital of casama in chozi the train is already eagerly awaited the small farmers want to load their last harvest here it can be small 20 kilogram bags but also 50 kilograms or even more the main thing is to make it onto the train with your luggage after all no one knows when the next one will arrive assertiveness is required pushing is obligatory anyone with fears of contacts must stay outside most women are traveling on business they know how to fight their way through however very few travel alone they feel safer in pairs the trader feliz chongo is going to tunduma today with her friends and we're already thinking about how else to get away from here but now it is possible because the police is also on the train lately we had our peace for me and my baby it's okay to travel by train especially at night it is safer than by car says young mother rosemary combo the construction of the railway line has completely changed this region the people of zambia have moved behind the tazara and settled along the tracks the trader teresa bualia even has feelings for the tazara for me the train is a cat she is friendly [Music] especially in the hard to reach regions people are completely dependent on the tazara 54 of the population lives from agriculture the farmers need the railway to transport larger harvests if the railway leaves them in the lurch their last chance to earn money would disappear [Laughter] time seems to have stood still people still live almost as they did a hundred years ago reforms are urgently needed [Music] after two days of travel the train reaches kazama in former times the place had a strategically important meaning in the east africa policy of europe at that time the germans and the english fought the first world war also on african soil in 1918 the german schutztrupper under paul fonletto fobeck coming from german east africa advanced to kasama they learned of the armistice in europe on november the 13th after the end of the last battles the british and germans marched to abercorn today umbala in northeastern zambia on lake tanganyika there leto forbec laid down his arms on the 25th of november 1918 and thus ended the first world war in german east africa it was only after world war ii that the country freed itself from colonialism the old power structures have been shattered but today it is the high debts in china that zambia feels squeezed by even though the population is grateful for the railway financed by china there is resistance to its economic presence in east africa the next major stop is serendi this small town near the muchinga mountains is the eye of the needle between the developed south and the underdeveloped north the town is the starting point for tourists to various zambian national parks not far from sedenje lies one of zambia's official natural monuments in the middle of the wilderness on the edge of the muchinga escarpment kundalila waterfall a place sacred to the people here [Music] the name kundalila means weeping dove in the local language bemba the kawambe river plunges 80 meters down the steep face [Music] at the foot of the waterfall is a natural deep pool surrounded by wild flowers visitors are allowed to swim here and are even encouraged by the park authorities to camp and picnic on the grounds [Music] park manager samuel camphwa has been working here for over 20 years he knows the history of the waterfall very well [Music] long time ago we used to have some dubs just here they were just uh rotating and crying just within here at the falls then after it was declared as a national monument in 1964 that's when we allowed now visitors to start coming in and visit the forest so to them they thought of when it goes under the water it swallows something like a pressure stone caught god and they tempered to kill one and you know those doves they like to stay away where it is very very much peaceful and that's how we lost the doves here at kundalini [Music] from the top of the falls you have a great view over the untouched luang gua valley gigantic forces from the earth's interior have divided the landscape here millions of years ago one hundred kilometers south of serengete the train reaches unkushi the penultimate stop on the nearly 1900 kilometer route the town lies on the tanzan highway the tanzanian zambian expressway built by the usa in the 1970s [Music] relics from another time the old freight cars at mukushi station not much is left of the once lofty dreams the economic upswing does not want to materialize [Music] trucks that happen to be passing by can be relied on more than the railway hitchhikers set off in search of a job many people have lost confidence in the tazara the train line could not keep its promises in the long run the state financed railway company is losing out to free enterprise on the roads with the tazara the state does not earn enough money to bring the track facilities up to the long overdue state of the art [Music] every moving train where the freight or passenger awakens the fighting spirit of the railway employees they're not giving up on the freedom train not yet [Music] a job at the railway is still like winning the lottery even if employees have to wait months for their paychecks as they did this summer almost 50 years ago the tanzania zambia railway was africa's largest infrastructure project it was primarily intended to help the poor people in the outback [Music] the tazara was a symbolic expression of state power it was intended to realize the postcolonial dream of prosperity for all [Music] [Music] today the railway is more an example of a non-functioning economic system no one really takes train traffic seriously here anymore the railway is becoming a stomping ground for everyone including the animals [Music] the district of umkushi is rich in minerals and precious stones but at the station nothing of this can be seen nevertheless it is the train from which the young generation expects a future [Music] for railway worker chanda walia and his girlfriend cecilia um the future lies on the rails okay my personal dream about tesla is i want to see a change within the company and even up to now it's like facing down the summer problems you know especially like financials so so my greatest dream about it is to see it change because i really love this company i want it to be operating like just these other real companies like in germany you know china and other like south africa is also doing great in this type of transport so my greatest dream about desert is to see it change and they are over it normally like the way it used to happen in the timeline that when it was opened that personal relationship between me and the tree yeah and it has always been my dream since childhood when i see trains moving i'll be like a house want to be one of those guys who drives those one of those guys with repair rails and so so it's like a dream come true to me because it's something that i was uh wishing for and it came to a reality now that i'm mean i want to like do the things that i was wishing that time i want to do them now yeah the vision of mobility for all is still there [Music] train driver samuel muqua does not lose faith in the tazara personally from the way i look at it i how related to an elephant looking at the elephant by light of it it is huge just like the trade itself then it has power it is it has power related to the promoting and looking at the best at least the trend moves it is compared to it is very different from other automobiles usually here in africa influence the concept to be a bit slow just like an enterprise itself so that's the reason why i would like [Music] a strong elephant that also knows how to get out of a crisis [Music] zambia still has large copper cobalt and gemstone deposits the country used to be the fourth largest copper producer in the world however falling prices and nationalization of the mines almost led to the ruin of this industry thanks to investments and increased demand for raw materials from china zambia is now earning more again [Music] but there is nothing more to do for tazara's freight traffic competition on the rails has become fierce since the end of apartheid the rail companies of east and south africa have been fighting against each other and for every load [Music] after a 52-hour journey 105 stops and 1860 kilometers the tazara reaches the terminus at kapiri umposhi in zambia's so-called copper belt [Music] around half a million people a year travel on the tazara twice a week despite the dangerous route the train is considered safe and fortunately nothing happened this time either [Music] it is still uncertain what will happen with the tazara but one thing is certain this train is loved even if the locals would prefer to get to their destination faster those who have traveled from far away like the so-called slow tourism the new trend of travel slow but intense is definitely guaranteed on the tazara and because you do not always know when you will leave or arrive there is also enough adventure included [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Free Documentary

Views: 1,709,025

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), Worlds Most Dangerous Railway Lines, dangerous railway tracks in world, dangerous train routes in the world, The Tazara, zambia, tanzania

Id: Y4gjcOJ9Xqk

Length: 52min 17sec (3137 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 30 2022