Tanzania Railway Cooperation forecasts Sh1.8bn loss in five months

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) has revealed that it will incur a Sh1.8 billion loss in the next three to five months due to the ongoing rehabilitation of the Central Line from Dar es Salaam to Isaka.

The rehabilitation is financed by the World Bank to the tune of $300 million (about Sh700 billion).

It involves upgrading the rail track to heavier crane railway, rehabilitation of bridges and elevating the axle load.

TRC director general Masanja Kadogosa said yesterday that the loss will be incurred due to regular interventions, which include delays of scheduled trains.

The project will cover a total of 970 kilometres and will be implemented through the Tanzania Intermodal and Rail Development Programme (TIRP), which started in June 2018 and is expected to end in 2020.

The fund was approved by the World Bank’s board of executive directors in April 2014 to support Tanzania’s efforts to create reliable open access railway infrastructure on the Dar es Saalam-Isaka section of the East African Central Corridor and to strengthen the region’s rail agencies’ ability to manage the infrastructure, traffic operations and network regulation.

Speaking at the ongoing 43rd Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF) yesterday, Mr Kadogosa confirmed that the rehabilitation will delay its upcountry and commuter trains operations.

The project involves laying afresh of rail tracks, building new intermodal terminals, repairing or reconstructing bridges and supporting the institutional transformation of the sector.

“Our passenger and cargo transporters will suffer in one way or another during the rehabilitation but we will also be suffering financially,” he said. On average, TRC currently carries 360 passengers and 2,400 tonnes of cargo to upcountry regions daily.

“These disruptions will be temporary. The rehabilitation will improve the transportation services in the long run,” Mr Kadogosa said.