The Ministry of Transport is assuring road transporters that the ongoing rehabilitation of the country’s railway system will not affect their operations.

This follows concerns that once finalised, the system will disrupt the transportation business especially the road transporters.

According to the ministry’s Public Relation Officer Andrew Mthiko, the rail system is only there to improve transportation in the country.

Malawi’s  main line of the rail system consists of a single track of 3’6″ gauge running from Salima to Nsanje, a distance of 439 km (273 mi), and operated by Malawi Railways.

The line was extended from Salima to Lilongwe in 1977 and was later extended to Mchinji, on the border with Zambia. At Chipoka, 32 km (20 mi) south of Salima, the railway connects with the Lake Malawi steamer service, also operated by Malawi Railways.

The railway line extends, in the south, from Nsanje to the port of Beira in Mozambique.