TANZANIA: South Korean company Hyundai Rotem has been selected as preferred bidder for a 335·4bn won contract to supply 80 electric multiple-units and 17 electric locomotives to Tanzania Railways Corp by 2024.
These will be designed to operate at a maximum speed of 160 km/h. The eight-car EMUs will have a capacity of about 590 passengers, with wheelchair spaces and parent and child facilities.
The fleet will be used on the 546 km standard gauge line between Dar es Salaam, Morogoro and Makutopora. The 207 km Stage 1 from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro is now being tested, with opening planned for this year.
The Dar es Salaam – Makutopora route forms the first two stages of a US$7bn project to connect Dar es Salaam with Mwanza, Kigoma, Katavi and neighbouring Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The line will replace the life-expired metre gauge network, on parts of which trains are limited to 20 km/h.
Hyundai Rotem said it had been selected thanks to its ability to offer vehicles optimised for African markets based on its experience supplying Egypt, Tunisia and Nigeria. It aims to actively participate in the Tanzanian market, with a view to winning further orders for later phases of the network.
| Tanzania standard gauge railway project | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage | Route | Length, km | Contractor |
| 1 | Dar es Salaam – Morogoro | 207 | Yapı Merkezi – Mota Engil Africa |
| 2 | Morogoro – Makutupora | 336 | Yapı Merkezi |
| 3 | Makutupora – Tabora | 394 | TBC |
| 4 | Tabora – Isaka | 190 | TBC |
| 5 | Isaka – Mwanza | 249 | China Civil Engineering Construction Corp and China Railway Construction Co |
| Branch | Isaka – Rusumo | 371 | Yapı Merkezi |
- Subscribers can read more about the development of Tanzania’s standard gauge railway in the July issue of Railway Gazette International magazine.
