National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) public relations manager Mr Nyasha Maravanyika said they have increased Freedom Train coaches on their City-Cowdray Park route in Bulawayo from eight to 12.
He said as of now, the NRZ cannot introduce train services on other routes in the city such as the city-Emganwini route or in other cities such as Harare. Said Maravanyika:
The number of people had increased even before the protests. We were recording as much as over 1 000 people on a trip. We had to increase our coaches. Initially we had eight coaches and we have increased them to around 11-12. At the moment the NRZ does not have sufficient resources and our teams are working on refurbishing some of the old coaches to make sure that they are suitable for commuters’ occupancy. It’s not only Emganwini. There are cries from Harare, we have the Passenger Association of Zimbabwe making calls for a train. It’s not just in Bulawayo but we have to look at the broader picture.
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