Dar es Salaam to boost railway services

The Tanzanian government has unveiled major plans to invest in the rail network in the Dar es Salaam region.

As part of its Sh137.6bn investment in Tanzania Railway Limited (TRL) over the 2013/14 financial year, the government is importing 13 locomotives from the US, purchasing cargo and passenger wagons and funding a general overhaul of the existing infrastructure. The TRL said its long-term plan includes the acquisition of 58 locomotives, 1,960 freight carriages and 44 passenger carriages which will require at least Sh1.1 trillion.

Over the last three years the transport body said it has rehabilitated 14 passenger coaches and three locomotives needed in Dar es Salaam. Investment in the railway sector is one of the government's key objectives as part of a three-year plan between this year and 2016.

Separately, in June the Japanese ambassador to Tanzania Masaki Okada declared an interest by the Japanese government to invest in the rail network of Dar es Salaam, to help decongest the city.