By Hellen Nachilongo
Dar es Salaam —
After being dormant for over two decades, the railway sector has now
received a new breath of life following a number initiatives to revamp
both the Tanzania Zambia Railway
Authority (Tazara) and the Tanzania
Railways Corporation (TRC).
The governments of
Tanzania and Zambia agreed this year to finance the re-capitalisation of
the 1,860km Chinese-built railway line running from Dar es Salaam in
Tanzania to New Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia in October during the 63rd
meeting of the Tazara Council of Ministers.
The ministers
agreed to pass preferential policies of the respective countries to
ensure at least 30 percent of bulky cargo is transported by rail to
foster business for Tazara.
And in July,
President John Magufuli ordered a quick review of the law that
established Tazara to make the railway line economically viable.
He issued the order
when he made a stopover at the Tazara main station in Dar es Salaam
before he boarded a train on his way to Kisaki, Morogoro Region where he
laid a foundation stone for the historic Rufiji power project.
Last October,
Tazara Council of Ministers, comprising the ministers responsible for
transport, finance and industry said re-drafting of the Tazara Act was
in final stage and the Bilateral Agreement to pave way for the revision
of the Act would be signed soon.
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Revamping of the
ailing Tazara was a top agenda during the discussion between Speaker of
the National Assembly Mr Job Ndugai and the senior Chinese legislator
and vice chairman of the National Peoples's Congress (NPC) Mr Ji
Bingxuan.
The government
pumped in Sh10 billion to improve performance of the Tazara to enable it
play a significant role in economic development.
Deputy minister for
Works, Transport and Communications Mr Atashasta Nditiye said transport
infrastructure was among top government priorities.
President John
Magufuli ordered the Treasury to probe 15.3 billion shillings ($6.65
million) the government paid to Tazara over two years to revive
operations of Tazara .
The funds were
allocated for the purchase of seven new locomotives to increase cargo
capacity by 400,000 tonnes, refurbish tracks and improve aging
infrastructure.
This year TRC also
received special attention, the biggest being the construction of the
Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Dar es Salaam-Morogoro, Dodoma-Singida
and the revival of Dar es Salaam commuter train.
The 438 kilometers
of the northern rail line that connects the northern seaport city of
Tanga, Moshi via Arusha was officially launched December 6, this year
while SGR will be operational April next year.
Since resumption of
operations December, the northern rail line has so far transported
hundreds of tonnes of cargo and thousands of passengers to their
respective regions during the festival season.
The re-launched
Tanga to Moshi cargo train service in July this year following extensive
repair work on the rail line after it was out of use for over a decade.
The government
disbursed Sh5 billion to purchase some 40 locomotives and repair the
damaged wagons to enable proper operation of rail meter gauge, allow the
transportation of cargo and passengers.
The government has
already disbursed Sh2.1 trillion for the construction of Dar es
Salaam-Morogoro, Dodoma- Singida SGR project internal sources of income
out of Sh4.4 trillion needed. The two remaining sections include
Tabora-Isaka (133 km) and Isaka-Mwanza (248 km).
TRC director
general Mr Masanja Kadogosa said Sh1.1 trillion has been released for
the Dar es Salaam-Morogoro section while Sh1 trillion for
Dodoma-Makutopola in Singinda.
He said the
construction of SGR Dar es Salaam - Mororogo has reached 72 percent
while the Dodoma- Morogoro section reached done by 22 percent.
Mr Kadogosa added
that until now they were still using internal sources of income to
finance the SGR project..... "This is a great achievement for the
country and it gives confidence that we can," he said.
He noted that
though they were managing several projects at once, most of the ground
works for the SGR project such as electrification, calavating,
earthwork, bridge have been carried out by over 80 percent.
He said the
government has done a massive investment in SGR and will continue to
invest for the expansion of railway network in Tanzania.
For the country to
have a good railway network, it needs to have at least 20,000 kilo
meters of railway network, currently there is only 4,700 kilometres of
rail network countrywide. "The only way to achieve this is to
collaborate with private sectors," he said.
He revealed that already a feasibility study for the establishment of Arusha to Musoma route has been finalised.
In March this year,
TRC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the World Food
Program (WFP) for a Sh1.3 billion ($600,000) grant to renovate 40 cargo
wagons.
Currently, WFP uses
the TRC services to transport goods used in refugee camps and other
cargoes destined for Uganda, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
and South Sudan.
Minister for Works,
Transport and Communications Mr Isack Kamwelwe said the support from
the WFP would complement government's efforts to revive operations of
the corporation.
"The government has
already contributed Sh4 billion ($1.7 billion) towards renovation of
200 coaches and cargo wagons, and has renovated 40 wagons so far. Upon
completion of renovation, TRC will have renovated 240 wagons," he said.
He commended WFP
for being a great partner in using the country's railway to transport
food to the neighbouring countries, thus strengthening bilateral
collaboration to improve Tanzania's railway services to increase
revenue.
TRC currently has
559 wagons where 469 are cargo wagons and 90 are tankers with the demand
standing at more than 800 wagons. The corporation also has 328 covered
wagons and 118 flat ones with demand standing at 300.
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