Chambeshi Railway Bridge

Chambeshi Bridge is located in the Northern Province of Zambia on the Chabeshi River.

History

On 11 October 1979 around 19:00, the bridge was bombed by the Southern Rhodesian (now Zimbabwe) army under the command of prime minister Ian Smith. The planted bombs detonated minutes after a south-bound Tanzania-Zambia Railways (TAZARA) passenger train traveling from Nakonde to Kapiri-Mposhi had passed. The bridge was bombed in an effort to preempt a raid that was allegedly being planned by Southern Rhodesian rebels hosted in Zambia to overthrow the colonial government in Zimbabwe.

The train was driven by Evelyn Mwansa, the first female locomotive driver in Zambia. She claimed to have had prior premonitions that the bridge would be bombed and increased the speed past the bridge on that fateful evening, probably saving hundreds of lives. She was later honoured by Zambia’s President H.E Michael Sata.

Reconstruction

The bridge was later reconstructed and relocated from its original spot on the Chambeshi River. The reconstruction was undertaken by Chinese engineers and took about one year to complete the work.

In 2022, TAZARA announced it had signed a contract with Jianngsu Gold Civil Construction Company Limited for the repair of the bridge at a cost of USD1.6 million. The repairs were expected to be completed in four months' time.