Zimbabwe's dingy trains mirror economic decline
Dark, dirty and slow, Zimbabwe's trains, like much else in the impoverished southern African country, have seen better days.
Once the preferred mode of transport for most Zimbabweans, the state-run rail service mirrors the decline in the country's economic fortunes during the last two decades under the leadership of former President Robert Mugabe.
Train carriages are parked at a train station in Harare.
A train schedule is written on a chalk board at a train station in Harare.
Passengers arrive to board a sleeper train at a station in Harare.
A passenger walks past a sleeper train at a station in Harare.
Passengers are seen ahead of an overnight train journey at a train station in Harare.
A passenger travels on a sleeper train from Harare to Bulawayo.
Commuters in a sleeper train traveling from Harare to Bulawayo.
People sit on a platform at a train station in Marondera.
Station master's office is seen at Marondera station.
A train carrying passengers and goods travels from Harare to Bulawayo.
People stand next to rail track as they watch a sleeper train traveling from Harare to Bulawayo pass by.
Commuters stand on a platform during a brief stop of a sleeper train traveling from Harare to Bulawayo, near the town of Gweru.
A train mechanic sleeps at a platform after an overnight train journey from Harare, in Bulawayo.
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But for now passengers have to make do with a broken train service.
"Today you can't even buy food from the train and all the coaches are filthy, with no water and the lights are not working," said one passenger who declined to give his name.
