With the ever-increasing cost of travelling over long distances across the country, travellers are now opting to use passenger trains which are cheaper than buses.
However, there have been reports of passengers stampeding for trains, with two fatalities witnessed at the National Railways station in Harare.
Speaking to State media, the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) public relations manager, Nyasha Maravanyika said that investigations are being done to ascertain the cause of deaths. He said:
We received reports that two people collapsed on our Harare-Mutare passenger train. We are investigating the reasons behind the collapse.
Going forward, we have improved our itinerary in order to prioritise the safety of our passengers. We are getting down to the issues that have been happening, especially on the Harare-Murare route.
As the National Railways of Zimbabwe, we strive to see that the safety of our passengers is our first priority.
We are putting all our efforts to make sure that our passengers are safe and they reach their destinations without any hustles.
The immediate measures to control stampedes in our passenger trains is to adhere to the required maximum number of passengers.
With the overwhelming number of passengers booking, I urge travelling parties to book on time and avoid unnecessary stampedes.