Tanzania Standard Gauge Railway

The government of Tanzania is currently expanding the country’s rail network with the construction of a Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to replace the old, inefficient meter-gauge railway system.

The SGR railway has the ability to carry heavy loads at high speed as opposed to the current Meter gauge Railway (MGR).

Tanzania’s SGR uses electric locomotives and has the capacity to transport passengers and cargo shipments at 160 kilometers per hour.

The SGR will link Tanzania, from the port of Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean to the port of Mwanza on the shore of Lake Victoria in northern Tanzania, and from there to neighboring countries of Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The SGR consists of a network of about 2,000 km developed in six phases:

• Phase 1: Dar es Salaam -Morogoro (Km 300)
• Phase 2: Morogoro-Makutupora (Km 422)
• Phase 3: Makutupora-Tabora (Km 294)
• Phase 4: Tabora-Isaka (Km 130)
• Phase 5: Isaka-Mwanza (Km 249)
• Phase 6: Tabora-Kigoma (Km 506)

Phase 1: Dar es salaam – Morogoro (300 km). Construction was inaugurated on 12th April 2017 and was carried out by Yapı Merkezi from Turkey in partnership with Mota Engil Africa from Portugal. Construction was completed in April 2022 and the railway is currently in the testing phase.

Phase 2: Morogoro – Makutupora (Km 442). The construction of the project was launched on 14th March 2018. The initial stages of construction have started under Yapı Merkezi. As of January 2023, the construction has reached 91.79%

Phase 3: Makutupora –Tabora (Km 294 + km 78 of intersections). Yapı Merkezi started the construction of the 3rd phase on 12th April 2022. As of January 2023, the construction has reached 97.77%

Phase 4: Tabora – Isaka (Km 130 + km 35 of intersections). The agreement for the construction of the project with Yapi Merkazi was signed by the Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) on behalf of the Government of Tanzania on 4th July 2022. Works started on 18th January 2023. As of January 2023, the construction has reached 3.95%

Phase 5: Isaka – Mwanza (Km 249). The Government of Tanzania signed the development agreement with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation and China Railway Construction in January 2021. As of January 2023, the construction has reached 22.71%

Phase 6: Tabora – Kigoma (Km 506). The agreement for the construction of the project with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and China Railway Construction Company (CRCC) was signed on 20th December 2022.

Last Updated: 20th January 2023.