Tanzania-Zambia train route hit by strike

Train services between Tanzania and Zambia have been paralysed by a strike by more than 1,500 Tanzanian workers over unpaid salaries.

A union official said workers had not been paid for five months.

China funded the building of the track, which stretches for 1,860km in the 1970s to boost links between the neighbours.

It gave the two governments a 500 million dollar interest-free loan for the project.

However, the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority set up by the two governments to operate the service, is running at a loss.

The authority is desperately seeking a private investor to prevent its collapse, as the Tanzanian and Zambian governments are reluctant to continue financing it.

A Tanzania Railway Workers Union official Erastus Kihwele said the two governments should seek emergency funds to pay the employees.

BBC