Why the African Rail System is Broken

Africa is massive. Fully connecting it by rail would be some undertaking even under perfect circumstances. But the issues that prevent regional rail connectivity (let alone continental) are less about the distances and more about the structural foundation. In this video, we explore the consequences of a design that is misaligned with modern logistics and why fixing it matters. ------------------------------- 0:00 - Introduction 01:06 - The Scale of the Problem 02:12 - It Wasn't Built for Africa 02:53 - The Gauge Problem 03:35 - The Copperbelt as a Case Study 04:00 - TAZARA 05:21 - A Promising Future? 07:21 - Conclusion ------------------------------ Disclaimers: *** 3:20, "local specifications" refers to the African colonies not colonial powers. *** "Africa" is used as a collective where a topic of discussion refers to several countries on the continent. Not all issues discussed will apply to every country. *** I do my best to get the research as accurate as possible, but I may get some facts wrong. If I do, please flag them and I'll address them. ----------------------------- Credits: I use Datawrapper for my maps, charts and infographics. Please see on-screen for sources of the data