TANZANIA: The 258·2 km Morogoro – Dodoma standard gauge line was handed over with a ceremony on July 25 and the first electric passenger train service ran on August 1 with President Samia Suluhu Hassan onboard.
The 201·8 km standard gauge line from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro was launched on June 14. The journey time for the 460 km distance from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma was reduced from 8 h by bus to around 3 h 30 min on rail, allowing for variations between services.
The single track line is electrified at 25 kV 50 Hz and has been designed for passenger trains to operate at up to 160 km/h. Freight trains can run at 120 km/h.
The line is being operated by national railway TRC, which awarded Hyundai Rotem a contract to supply 17 four-axle E6800 electric locomotives and 10 electric multiple-units.
State railway infrastructure authority Reli Assets Holding Co has awarded Turkish company Yapı Merkezi a US$1·92bn contract to build the Morogoro – Dodoma – Makutupora 1 435 mm gauge line. US$1·46bn of the cost is funded through a soft loan from Standard Chartered Bank. Construction was officially launched by then President Magufuli in March 2018 with a ceremony at Ihumwa in Dodoma.
Mapema leo nchi yetu ilipoandika historia kwa uzinduzi wa Treni ya Kisasa ya Umeme (SGR) ambapo pia nimeitumia kusafiri kutoka Dar es Salaam kwenda Dodoma.
— Samia Suluhu (@SuluhuSamia) August 1, 2024
Baada ya kukamilika kwa kazi hii njema, sasa tumeanza kazi ya vipande vipya vya Tabora kwenda Isaka, Isaka hadi Mwanza,… pic.twitter.com/WMl2tHxnq6
The standard gauge network in Tanzania has been under development since 2012 and is eventually expected to reach more than 2 500 route-km, running inland from the Indian Ocean to serve landlocked central African countries.
‘After the completion of this line, we have now started work on the new sections from Tabora to Isaka, Isaka to Mwanza, as well as from Tabora to Kigoma, and then connecting with our neighbouring countries to open more doors to economic opportunities for our people’, Samia Suluhu Hassan said.
- Subscribers can read more about Tanzania’s standard gauge railway in the July 2021 issue of Railway Gazette International.
