Photo: New Times Railway line.
As Tanzania
continues with the construction of the standard gauge railway, the
government has also embarked on revamping the old metre gauge railway
network built by colonialists over a century ago.
The programme is aimed at facilitating the transporting goods to EAC neighbours to and from Dar es Salaam and Tanga ports.
Transport
Tanzania's recent
move mirrors Kenya's and Uganda's, both of whom have announced plans to
revamp their old lines amid uncertainty over the progress of the joint
SGR line on the Northern Corridor, due to lack of funding.
Tanzania Railway Corporation's managing director Masanja Kadogosa said the renovation would end years of neglect.
Phase one of the
programme, which started in early 2018 of the northern railway network
from Tanga port to Moshi railway station, covering 353km, is complete.
It was fully funded by the government at Sh5.7 billion ($2.1 million).
Also Read
Why law to protect privacy is crucial
Truck operators want a piece of the SGR pie
Tax stamps: Govt to roll out 2nd phase soon stamps
Councils miss out on chance to raise billions
A section of the
line connects to Kenya at the junction of Kahe railway station with a
branch passing through Taveta border and connecting to the
Mombasa-Kampala line at Voi in Taveta hills in Kenya.
The line has been
out of commission for years from neglect and lack of funding, which
resulted in the cargo trains suspending services since 1994.
The move has
exacerbated the high charges incurred by transporters using trucks to
haul export and import goods through Tanga port.
The cost to be
incurred by the whole programme is estimated at Tsh14 billion ($6.8
million), which would include the purchase of wagons and locomotives.
Last week, Prime
Minister Kassim Majaliwa witnessed a grand inauguration ceremony of the
new 20 wagons that carried 800 tonnes of cement from Tanga to Moshi.
Multibillion shilling
Analysts say that, these would be carried by 30 trucks at a higher cost.
Operations between
the two towns and an extension railway line to Arusha city reduced
gradually before shutting down transportation of goods and passengers
over a decade ago.
This was blamed on a drying up of funding and compounded by poor management.
Over three weeks
ago, Tanzanians witnessed a grand testing ceremony of the first Standard
Gauge Railway locomotive to be used by the engineers currently
supervising the quality of work along the newly spread track.
The SGR project
contractor Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi, in partnership with Portuguese
firm Mota-Engil Africa, allowed the locomotive, which was used for
testing along 20-km stretch of track from Soga station in Kibaha
District, towards Morogoro.
It will ferry
engineers along an estimated of 150km between Dar es Salaam and Morogoro
as they complete the multi-billion shilling project.
The Minister for
Works, Transport and Communication, Isaack Kamwelwe, said the government
has started the process of purchasing 22 locomotive engines for
passenger wagons, 1,430 cargo wagons and 60 passenger wagons to be used
for operations once the first section is complete by December this year.
Plan B
Kenya, which had
planned to launch the second phase of its SGR between Nairobi and
Naivasha in August, suffered a setback after failing to secure funding
from China.
Kenya will now
revamp its metre-gauge railway to Malaba, after securing a $400 million
loan from China. This puts the brakes on Uganda's hopes of getting a
modern railway to transit its goods through Kenya.
Cargo will now
reach Naivasha, get evacuated by trucks to the new metre gauge before
eventually moving to Malaba and onwards to Kampala and beyond.
Uganda is already
upgrading its metre gauge railway line from Malaba to Kampala at a cost
of $170 million. The country plans to upgrade two lines, Malaba-Kampala
and Tororo-Gulu.
No comments :
Post a Comment