Abstract
The study seeks to investigate the awareness and adoption of modern technologies which are collectively called (IRTS) Intelligent Railway Transport Systems by the NRZ (National railways of Zimbabwe) of Zimbabwe. Adoption of these technologies are on an increasing trend in developed and developing countries, installation and implementation of a railway system called RailTracker in Tanzania has improved railway services in that country, in Uganda and Kenya the Rift Valley Railway (RVR) has introduced GPS technology to track trains. In India a system is used to detect defects in rolling stock while they are on the run. Where these systems have been implemented, they have significantly improved the efficiency, safety and quality of service of railway operations. In Zimbabwe the rail network is an important transport infrastructure enabling movement of goods and passengers. Primary research was carried out using questionnaires and semi structured interviews, data was collected from 67 participants comprising Engineers, Technicians, Train Drivers and Station Managers. 98% of the technical participants indicated that they were aware of IRTS however the adoption of the systems by the NRZ is at 0%. 100% of the Managers indicated that they were aware of IRTS and the company is willing to adopt them but currently no system has been installed Secondary research was conducted to identify and study similar projects elsewhere, their success as well as the difficulties encountered during their implementation. Secondary data was collected from books and the Internet.
 
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Highlights
98% of the technocrats indicated that they were aware these technologies which are being used in modern Railways which are collectively called Intelligent Railway Transport Systems (IRTS) and 2% did not know the existence of intelligent Railway Transport Systems
90% of the Managers agreed that modern technology can improve National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) service delivery while 10% had the opinion that NRZ should first improve its infrastructure both its rolling stock and rail tracks
The study revealed that the NRZ is aware of IRTS and its benefits the NRZ has not adopted any of these technologies due to financial constraints
Summary
Zhou said “The benefits of developing an intelligent rail system include avoidance of collusions, over speed accidents, terrorist attack monitoring and prevention, increasing transport capacity and assert utilization, protection of passenger service, raising efficiency of energy use and emissions, promotion of economic growth and profits and allowing railway to measure and control, costs as well as dealing with emergency situations.”. NRZ operates about 2700km of railway lines proving passenger and freight services. The railway industry is largely responsible for the movement of bulk goods especially imports and exports at both regional and international levels thereby promoting regional and international trade. The study was carried out on the Bulawayo, Harare to Mutare railway line. The research was done in Bulawayo, Gweru, Kwekwe, Harare and Mutare.The NRZ network is shown on Figure 1
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