DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan launched the nation’s first modern railway Thursday, which was built by Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi.
Built at a cost of $3.1 billion, the 541-kilometer (336-mile) modern standard gauge railway runs from Dar es Salaam and the eastern city of Morogoro to the capital, Dodoma.
The launch of the electric train services will significantly reduce travel time from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma from eight hours by road to 3.5 hours by train.
The trains will also have the capacity to carry 10,000 tons of cargo equivalent to 500 cargo trucks and are expected to connect Tanzania with countries that do not border the Indian Ocean, including Burundi, Congo and Rwanda.
Hassan said the project would create employment opportunities, enhance port efficiency and boost both national and international trade.
Several leaders from the government and private sector participated in the launch event, traveling with Hassan from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro to Dodoma by electric train.
The transport services will use the first two sections of the project, covering a length of 722 kilometers (448 miles), including main roads and intersections, as part of a 1,395-kilometer (866-mile) network extending to Mwanza city.
The Turkish diplomatic mission in Tanzania congratulated Tanzanian railway authorities and Yapi Merkezi, noting that it was “an important pillar of cooperation between the two nations.
