A distance of more than 400 kilometers separates Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital, from Bulawayo, the country’s second-largest city and industrial center. Unless you can afford a plane ticket, and most Zimbabweans can’t, the best way to travel between the two is to drive six or seven hours on a narrow highway, often longer if you hit a pothole, a police roadblock or a traffic jam. There is also a train that links the two cities, but it is in a state of considerable disrepair, running slowly and never on time.
Nelson Chamisa wants to do the trip in just half an hour. On a bullet train.
Listen to Simon Allison discuss this article on WPR’s Trend Lines Podcast. His audio starts at 15:15.