The Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) has announced that the manufacturing of 264 freight wagons for the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) has been completed in China.
This announcement was made in November 2024 by the TRC through a public notice.
TRC informed that the vessel carrying the wagons set sail from China on 12th November 2024, and is expected to arrive in Tanzania by mid-December 2024.
The shipment includes 200 container wagons and 64 wagons for carrying loose cargo. The 264 wagons are part of a larger order of 1,430 wagons, which are being produced by CRRC, as per the terms of the contract.
The freight wagons are designed to carry heavy loads, aligning with the SGR’s capacity to handle increased cargo volumes.
TRC also announced successfully transporting over 1,000,000 (one million) passengers in four months since the launch of the SGR between Dar es Salaam and Dodoma in June 2024.
TRC noted that this is double the number of passengers transported by the old Meter Gauge Railway (MGR), which carried a total of 400,000 passengers over one year.
TRC urges Tanzanians to protect the SGR infrastructure as it continues to improve infrastructure and provide services.
Tanzania Standard Gauge Railway (SGR)
The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project in Tanzania is a transformative initiative aimed at modernizing the country’s rail network. Designed to replace the outdated meter-gauge system, the SGR enhances the efficiency and capacity of freight and passenger transport across the nation.
SGR spans approximately 2,000 kilometers and is being developed in six phases. Phase 1 connecting Dar es Salaam to Morogoro (300 km) was inaugurated in August 2024.
The railway can carry heavy loads at high speed as opposed to the current Meter Gauge Railway (MGR).
Tanzania’s SGR uses electric locomotives and can transport passengers and cargo shipments at 160 kilometers and 120 per hour respectively.
