| Tanzania Railway Corporation | |
| Two diesel locomotives pull a passenger train into Dar es Salaam's main railway station. |
|
| Operation | |
| National railway | Tanzania |
| Statistics | |
| System length | |
| Total | 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi) |
| Gauge | |
| Main | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) |
| Electrification | |
| Main | None |
| Features | |
The Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) is a state-owned enterprise that runs one of Tanzania's two main railway networks.
When the East African Railways and Harbours Corporation was dissolved in 1977 and its assets divided between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, TRC was formed to take over EARH's railway, harbour and inland shipping operations in Tanzania. In 1997 the inland shipping division became a separate company.
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TRC's gauge is 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) and the total length is about 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi). Two east-west lines linking the coast and the hinterland were built when the country was under colonial rule as German East Africa. The Central Line runs from Dar es Salaam to Kigoma, and the Tanga Line from Tanga to Arusha. A north-south connection, from Korogwe to Morogoro, links the two lines. The mainline has other branches, one to Lake Victoria where a connection operates via Lake Victoria train ferries with the Uganda Railway. From the Tanga line there was an EARH line to Kenya but this is now disused.
There is a break-of-gauge at Dar es Salaam to the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) that at 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) links to Zambia.
A second link between these two lines is provided at Kidatu, where the TAZARA line meets the Kidatu branch.
TRC inherited EARH's ferry and cargo ship services on Lake Tanganyika and Lake Malawi and some EARH's ships on Lake Victoria.
TRC introduced the ferry MV Bukoba on Lake Victoria in about 1979,[1] the ferry MV Mwongozo on Lake Tanganyika in 1982[2] and the passenger and cargo ship MV Serengeti on Lake Victoria in 1988.[3]
On 21 May 1996 Bukoba sank in 25 metres (14 fathoms) of water about 30 nautical miles (56 km) off Mwanza.[1] She had many more passengers aboard than she was certified to carry and at least 800 people were killed.[1] After the disaster criminal charges were brought against nine TRC officials including Bukoba's master and the manager of the Marine Division.[1]
In 1997 the Marine Division became a separate company, Marine Services Company Limited.[4]
On 24 June, 2002 the Igandu train disaster killed 281 people, the third highest number of deaths in a train disaster in Africa.
In 2007 RITES Ltd. of India won a contract from the Parastatal Sector Reform Commission (PSRC) to operate passenger and freight services on a concession basis for 25 years.[5] The concession agreement was signed on September 3, 2007, and was to begin on October 1, 2007. The railway will be run as Tanzania Railway Ltd, with the government owning a 49% stake.[6].
There were moves to abandon the contract "due in part, to the fact that the Indian investor failed to pay over USD 6 million in concession fees to the Tanzania government in 2008" but RITES officials countered noting that the contract "misled Rites officials by indicating that the Railway Assets Holding Company (Rahco) was in possession of 92 working locomotives when, in actuality, only 55 existed".[7] In 2010, the government terminated the contract and resumed control.[8]
In 2007 Tanzania's Deputy Minister for Infrastructure Maua Abeid Daftari proposed gauge conversion to standard gauge.
In 2008 tenders were sought for steel sleepers of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge convertible to 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge[9] and for concrete sleeper plant for dual 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) and 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) gauges.