By JAMES KUNDA –

ZAMBIA Railways Limited (ZRL) has released the new fare chart and travel schedule for the Golden Jubilee express train that was flagged off for immediate operations yesterday.
The new fares which will come into effect tomorrow will apply on the economy, standard business and sleeper classes that the new train traversing the Livingstone-Kitwe route has been furnished with.
According to the fare chart availed to the Times of Zambia in Ndola yesterday, the new fares have been aligned towards the current standard bus fares paid by passengers between Livingstone and Kitwe.
For the economy class, ZRL is charging K145 compared to K155 charged by Rosa buses operators, highlighting a difference of only K10, while on the Standard Class, passengers will pay K170 by train from Livingstone to Kitwe compared to K180 paid by those using standard buses.
For the business class on the jubilee express train, passengers will be charged K210 compared to K220 charged on those travelling by the bus, while on the sleeper class, charges for train have been pegged at K220, uniform to that of the bus service.
Meanwhile, the travel schedule availed by ZRL indicates that the Golden Jubilee express will be departing for Kitwe from Livingstone at 18:00 hours on Sundays and leaving Kitwe for Livingstone on Thursdays at 08:00 hours.
The Commuters Rights Association of Zambia (CRAZ) has, however, objected to the new fares saying the move would make railway transport costly for ordinary users.
CRAZ president Aaron Kamuti said the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) and other relevant authorities should intervene to overturn the decision by ZRL.
Zambia Consumer Association (ZACA) executive director Samuel Simutunda said in a separate interview that ZRL could explore other avenues of income generation such as bulk cargo transportation instead of stretching the passengers’ budget by hiking fares.
“Equally the railway infrastructure is not in a state that can warrant an increase in train fares and ZRL should go back to the drawing board and consider other means of income generation instead of hiking fares,” he said.