In 2017, Tanzania began the Tanzania Standard Gauge Railway project, which will construct a standard gauge (1435mm) line parallel to the meter-gauge (1000mm) Central Line between Dar es Salaam and Mwanza, with a new route branching northwest at Isaka to Kigali in Rwanda.
History
Kidete railway stationKigoma railway station, viewed from the station yard in 2010
German period
The Central Line was the second railway project coming into existence in the colony of then German East Africa after the Usambara Railway. For the Tanganjikabahn-project a company was founded, the Ostafrikanische Eisenbahngesellschaft (OAEG) (East African Railway Company) which started railway construction in 1905 with 21 million marks (ℳ) provided by Adolph von Hansemann'sDisconto-Gesellschaft (Discounting Company) bank. The building started at the port and capital of that time, Dar es Salaam.
From the start the engineers fought large difficulties, the tropical climate, periodic heavy rain and lack of appropriate building material. On the other hand, they could count on the experiences from the previous building of the Usambara Railway. The 1,000mm (3ft3+3⁄8in), meter-gauge, was chosen. The Central Line is the largest technical inheritance of the German colonial age in Tanzania.
The construction followed a centuries-old caravan route cleared by Arab traders to Tabora,[1] which gave large logistic advantages. German settlers soon followed with plantations, and Tabora developed into a large agricultural centre. Kilometer 200 was reached in 1907, in the vicinity of the town of Morogoro. In 1909 the railhead reached Kilosa. Kigoma at Lake Tanganyika at kilometer 1252 was reached in 1914 just prior to the First World War. The regular travel time over the total distance amounted to 58 hours. It was planned to develop the line further to Iringa and to reach Lake Malawi, a project which was stopped due to the war.
The construction of the line opened up trade between Lake Tanganyika and the east coast and spurred the growth of the ports at its termini.
British Mandate
The British mandate added to the Central Line three branch lines. The most important one, of 379km (235mi), ran from Tabora to Mwanza at the south bank of the Lake Victoria. Another ran from Kilosa to Mikumi. A third, established in 1931, ran 93.58mi (150.60km)[2] from Manyoni via Singida to Kinyangiri;[3] the section north of Singida closed between 1944 and 1947.[4]
After independence
After the independence of Tanzania, the Central Line and the Usambara Railway were connected between the stations of Mruazi and Ruvu.
In September 2022, the Tanzania Intermodal and Rail Development Project phase 1 concluded which includes track and bridge rehabilitation, axle load capacity enhancement, and the revitalization of intermodal terminals along the 970km stretch between Dar es Salaam and Isaka.
Another $200 million was approved in 2024 for phase 2 from the International Development Association to enhance safety, climate resilience and operational efficiency.[5]
In August 2024, the passenger traffic on standard gauge between Dar Es Salaam and Dodoma was inaugurated.[6]
The Main Line
The Central Line starts at the Tanzanian metropolis of Dar es Salaam at the Indian Ocean with today's capital of Tanzania, Dodoma, in the center of the country and proceeds further to Tanzania’s most important port at the shore of Lake Tanganyika, Kigoma. It crosses central Tanzania completely with a length of 1,254 kilometers (779mi) and overcomes the height of the east edge East African rift valley. The main stations on this line are: Dar es Salaam, Ruvu, Morogoro, Kilosa, Dodoma, Manyoni, Tabora and Kaliua.[7]
Mwanza Line
Mwanza Train Station as seen from the main road in the centre of Mwanza town.
The Mwanza Railway line connects with the main line at Tabora station and ends at Mwanza railway station. The distance covered by this railway line is 378km. Its construction started at Tabora in 1923 and ended in Mwanza in 1928. A dry port was constructed at the town of Isaka, for freight transport to Rwanda and Burundi. The main stations along the Mwanza Railway line are: Tabora, Kakola, Isaka, Shinyanga and Mwanza.[7]
Mikumi line
The Mikumi line, built between 1958 and 1963, branches southwards off the Central Line at Kilosa and crosses the Mkata Plain to Kidatu, where it meets the 1,067mm gauge TAZARA Railway at a break-of-gauge.
Traffic
Passenger train in the main station of Dar es Salaam
Today’s rail services are offered by the Tanzania Railways Corporation. The timetable[8] offers two passenger services per week in each direction covering the whole length of the line. A trip from Dar es Salaam to Kigoma takes approximately 40 hours today according to the timetable. The long time of travel is due to the poor state of the railway’s infrastructure, which originates to a large extent still from the German colonial times.[citation needed] Three classes are offered, whereby the second class also provides sleeping cars and the first class offers sleeping cars only.[9][10] The standard of a sleeping car of second class corresponds rather to a couchette by European standards.[citation needed]
Flooding in December 2009 caused serious disruption; operations resumed in June 2010.[11]
Franz Balzer: Die Kolonialbahnen mit besonderer Berücksichtigung Afrikas. Berlin 1916. Reprint: Leipzig 2008. ISBN978-3-8262-0233-9.
Helmut Schroeter: Die Eisenbahnen der ehemaligen deutschen Schutzgebiete Afrikas und ihre Fahrzeuge = Die Fahrzeuge der deutschen Eisenbahnen 7. Frankfurt 1961.
Transport in Tanzania includes road, rail, air and maritime networks. The road network is 86,472 kilometres (53,731 mi) long, of which 12,786 kilometres (7,945 mi) is classified as trunk road and 21,105 kilometres (13,114 mi) as regional road. The rail network consists of 3,682 kilometres (2,288 mi) of track. Commuter rail service is in Dar es Salaam only. There are 28 airports, with Julius Nyerere International being the largest and the busiest. Ferries connect Mainland Tanzania with the islands of Zanzibar. Several other ferries are active on the countries' rivers and lakes.
Kigoma is a city and lake port in Kigoma-Ujiji District in Tanzania, on the northeastern shores of Lake Tanganyika and close to the border with Burundi and The Democratic Republic of the Congo. It serves as the capital for the surrounding Kigoma Region and has a population of 232,388. The city is situated at an elevation of 775 metres (2,543 ft).
Mwanza Region is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative regions, covering a total land area of 25,233 km2 (9,743 sq mi). The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of North Macedonia. Mwanza Region is bordered to the north through Lake Victoria by the Kagera Region and Mara Region, to the east by Simiyu Region, to the south by the Shinyanga Region and to the west by Geita Region. The regional capital is the city of Mwanza. According to the 2022 national census, the region had a population of 3,699,872 and national census of 2012 had 2,772,509. Mwanza Region is the second region with high population in Tanzania after Dar es Salaam Region.
Tabora Urban is one of the seven districts in the Tabora Region of Tanzania. This district is mostly the city of Tabora and its suburbs. It is bordered almost completely by the Uyui District. It has a small border with Nzega District to the north. Its administrative seat is the city of Tabora.
The Catholic Church in Tanzania is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
Rail transport in Tanzania is conducted by two companies. It has historically used narrow gauge trackage, but planning and construction of new standard gauge lines is underway as of 2017.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Tanzania:
The Usambara Railway was the first railway to be built in German East Africa and what is today Tanzania.
Railway stations in Tanzania include:
Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) is a parastatal public corporation acting under the aegis of the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, that has the responsibility "to manage and operate" the ocean ports and lake ports of the country of Tanzania. The Tanzania Ports Authority headquarters are located in Mchafukoge ward of Ilala District in Dar es Salaam Region. It is a member of the Port Management Association of Eastern and Southern Africa.
The Tanzania Railways Corporation(TRC) is a state-owned enterprise that runs one of Tanzania's two main railway networks. the Headquarters are located in Mchafukoge, Ilala District, Dar es Salaam Region.
Rail transport in Tanzania began in the late 19th century.
The Tanzanian Championship is the second tier of league football in Tanzania. The league is made up of sixteen teams that play thirty rounds, home and away.The league was formed in 1930.
The First League Tanzania is the third tier of league football in Tanzania. The league is divided into two groups, with each group having eight teams. A round-robin format is played and followed by a play-off tournament for promotion and relegation.
The Tanzanian Broadcasting Corporation is a television network. It is Tanzania's national network and is government-owned and operated.
The Tanzania Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is a railway system, under construction and partially in operation, serving Tanzania and linking it to the neighbouring countries of Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi, and through these to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as part of the East African Railway Master Plan. The new, electrified standard gauge railway is intended to replace the outdated metre-gauge railway system.
The Tanzam Highway leads from Lusaka in Zambia to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. The highway was built from 1968 to 1973 in several stages and was intended to provide seaport access for Zambia and to expand the transport options for Zambia, Malawi and the then Zaire.
Itigi District is a district council in the Singida Region of central Tanzania established in 2015. The district lies in the south-western portion of the Singida Region with 279,069 people and encompasses a large area mostly made up of protected game reserves.
Msalala District is a district council in the Shinyanga Region of Tanzania's lake zone established in 2012. The district lies in the middle of the region just north-east of the town of Kahama.
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