DAR ES SALAAM, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Tanzania-Zambia railway recorded a 19.4 percent rise in freight traffic in the 2020/2021 financial year ended June 30, 2021, said the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority, the operator, in a statement Thursday.

The statement, issued at the end of the 117th Board of Directors meeting of the operator, with the headquarters in Dar es Salaam of Tanzania, said that the railway saw an improvement of 26.7 percent in overall revenue earnings in the 2020/2021 financial year, when compared to the previous financial year that ended on June 30, 2020.

During the 2020/2021 financial year, the railway line transported 217,661 metric tons of freight, compared to 182,302 metric tons transported in the 2019/2020 financial year.

Despite limitations on the movement of people globally due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall passenger traffic transported was 2,760,493 passengers during the 2020/2021 financial year, down 0.66 percent from the previous financial year when 2,778,708 passengers were transported.

According to the statement, the overall revenue earnings for the 2019/2020 financial year were 24.511 million U.S. dollars.

The Tanzania-Zambia railway line was constructed as a turnkey project between 1970 and 1975 through an interest-free loan from China, with commercial operations starting in July 1976. It covers 1,860 km from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to New Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia. - Xinhua