The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) has urged the Government regulate the trade in scrap metal to curb vandalism of the railway network.
The parastatal says it has spent nearly US$1 million replacing equipment and rail components vandalised by illegal gold miners or stolen by copper cable thieves.
NRZ public affairs and stakeholder relations manager Andrew Kunambura told The Sunday Mail that thieves are also targetting ballast along railway lines.
Ballast is a layer of crushed stone or gravel that is placed on top of the subgrade and under the railroad ties.
It provides support for the ties and tracks, and it also helps to drain water away from the tracks. Said Kunambura:
Illegal gold miners are digging holes and tunnels that cut across the railway lines.
The effect of such destruction is an increased derailments and accidents.
The NRZ is also experiencing theft of ballast along the railway network.
Such ballast is used to construct houses and some are taken with the belief of extracting gold ore from it.
This is particularly frequent on the Harare-Bindura and Shamva line, and the Kadoma-Eiffel Flats line.
The effect of such theft results in potential derailments and train accidents.
Due to the proliferation of scrap dealing, we have witnessed a rise in the theft of scrap in our yards throughout the system.
To ameliorate the dire situation, there is a need for scrap dealers to be regulated so that they apply due diligence when procuring such scrap.
Kunambura said between January and December last year, NRZ dealt with 52 cases of copper theft and 49 related to the destruction of rail properties.
Between January and October, the NRZ handled 27 cases of theft and vandalism.
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