The Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) is a

state-owned enterprise A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a Government, government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn Profit (econom ...

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 its operations in Tanzania. In 1997 the inland shipping division became a separate company.

MGR

In November 2021, TRC received the three modern locomotives (H10 series) worth Sh22 billion to strengthen their Metre-gauge railway (MGR) line, ordered from Malaysia.

Rail network

TRC's gauge is and the length about . Two east–west lines linking the coast and the hinterland were built under colonial rule as

German East Africa German East Africa (GEA; german: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was a German colony in the African Great Lakes region, which included present-day Burundi, Rwanda, the Tanzania mainland, and the Kionga Triangle, a small region later incorporated into Mozam ...

: the Central Line runs from

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

to Kigoma, and the Tanga Line from

Tanga Tanga may refer to: Places Burkina Faso * , a town in eastern Burkina Faso * Tanga, Sidéradougou, a village in western Burkina Faso * Tanga-Pela, a village in northern-central Burkina Faso Other places * Tanga, Tanzania, a city and port on th ...

to Arusha. A north-south connection, from Korogwe to Ruvu, links the two lines. The main line runs to

Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...

where a connection operates ''via''

train ferries A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train f ...

with the Uganda Railway. From the Tanga line a line to Kenya is disused. Railways in Tanzania

There is a break-of-gauge at Dar es Salaam to the

Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority The Tazara Railway, also called the Uhuru Railway or the Tanzam Railway, is a railway in East Africa linking the port of Dar es Salaam in east Tanzania with the town of Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia's Central Province. The single-track railway is ...

(TAZARA) line to Zambia. A second link is at Kidatu, where the TAZARA line meets the Kidatu branch.

Former Marine Division

TRC inherited ferry and

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

services on

Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika () is an African Great Lake. It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second-deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. ...

and Lake Nyasa and some ships on

. TRC introduced on Lake Victoria in about 1979, on Lake Tanganyika in 1982 and passenger and

on Lake Victoria in 1988. On 21 May 1996 ''Bukoba'' sank in of water about off Mwanza. She had many more passengers aboard than she was certified to carry and at least 800 people were killed. After the disaster criminal charges were brought against nine TRC officials including ''Bukobas master and the manager of the Marine Division. In 1997 the Marine Division became a separate company,

Marine Services Company Limited Marine Services Company Limited (MSCL) is a Tanzanian company that operates ferries, cargo ships and tankers on three of the African Great Lakes, namely Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Nyasa. It provides services to neighbouring Buru ...

Rail accidents

On 24 June 2002 the Igandu train disaster killed 281 people, the second highest number of deaths in a train disaster in Africa (the highest being the Awash rail disaster).

Privatisation, re-nationalization and recent plans

In 2007

RITES Ltd Rail India Technical and Economic Service Limited, abbreviated as RITES Ltd, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Indian Railways, Ministry of Railways, Government of India. It is an engineering consultancy corporation, specializing in the field ...

of India won a contract from the Parastatal Sector Reform Commission (PSRC) to operate passenger and freight trains on a concession basis for 25 years. The concession agreement was signed on 3 September 2007, to begin on 1 October 2007. The railway will be run as Tanzania Railway Ltd, with the government owning a 49% stake. 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"''. In 2010, the government terminated the contract and resumed control. In 2007 the Deputy Minister for Infrastructure Maua Abeid Daftari proposed

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

Sleepers

In 2008 tenders were sought for -gauge steel sleepers convertible to gauge and for concrete sleeper plant for dual and gauges.

References

https://yapimerkezi.com.tr/En/Projects/Ongoing-Projects/Dar-Es-Salaam-Morogoro-RAILWAY

External links

{{authority control Railway companies of Tanzania Railway companies established in 1977 Government-owned companies of Tanzania 1977 establishments in Tanzania Metre gauge railways in Tanzania Government-owned railway companies

MGR