The Sunday Mail
Debra Matabvu
October 16, 2015 began like an ordinary day for two National Railways of Zimbabwe train drivers and their six assistants.
There was no slighest hint that the day would end in tragedy.
At around 20:20hrs, their goods trains collided head on near Melfort, Mashonaland East — killing the two drivers and two assistants.
One driver was decapitated as he tried to jump to safety but rammed into the wagon that crashed three of his colleagues to death.
The four injured survivors were rushed to Marondera General Hospital and were later discharged.
One of the trains was transporting granite from Harare to Mutare while the other one was transporting nine containers of various substances from Mutare to Harare.
Questions abound as the nation tries to wrap its mind around this tragedy.
How did the two trains that were travelling in opposite directions end up in one track?
Did the drivers not see the fast-approaching danger and if they did, why didn’t they avoid it?
NRZ spokesman Mr Fanuel Masikati said investigations on the train collision are ongoing but declined to give further details.
However, sources close to investigations told The Sunday Mail that preliminary findings were that the two drivers were surprised (like we are) to see each other on the same track.
Panicking, they tried to apply the brakes but the breaking distance was insufficient to avoid the inevitable.
The sources say the NRZ is operating without a Central Train Control system that helps co-ordinate train communication and movement.
As such, train drivers are instructed verbally before leaving base to stop at particular stations or yards to allow track interchanges.
There is no further communication after this, until the train reaches its destination.
“This leaves drivers and passengers at the mercy of other trains. For instance, if a train heading in your direction speeds or is slow, that means you will not stop where you would have been told to stop. That’s a recipe for disaster,” said a source who requested anonymity.
“Zimbabwe is probably one of the very few countries in the region that operates without a CTC. It is impossible to do so, it is like flying an aeroplane without a radar.”
Another source added: “A CTC is operated from a central point to communicate with trains using communication signals. However, these signals have been vandalised and have not been replaced.”
Transport and Infrastructure Development parliamentary porfolio committee chair Cde Dexter Nduna said: “We have a challenge on our infrastructure due to vandalism. There are no communication signals on the railway system and a train driver has to get instructions from the point of departure and this is not sustainable.
“The same energy that Government is putting in revamping the road network should also be directed towards rehabilitating the rail sector.”
An official in the Transport and Infrastructure Development Ministry said, “We are working on fixing railway structure as enunciated in the National Transport Master Plan.”
In 2003, over 40 passengers were killed after their coach and a goods train collided head on in Dete near Hwange.
In 2006, one passenger was killed while six others were injured when two trains collided at Ngungumbane near Chiredzi.
