TAZARA stops passenger train operations

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania | Xinhua | The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) announced on Thursday that passenger train services will be suspended from June 18, 2024 until further notice.

“This suspension has become necessary due to various operational challenges facing the agency,” TAZARA said in a statement signed by Conrad Simuchile, TAZARA’s Director of Public Relations.

On 21 May, TAZARA announced the resumption of train services following the renovation of the main line, which was damaged by heavy rains in March. Train services had been suspended on 1 April after landslides caused by heavy rains damaged the railway tracks between Mlimba and Makambako in Tanzania.

The TAZARA Railway, known as the ‘Uhuru Railway’ or ‘Independent Railway’, was constructed as a turnkey project between 1970 and 1975 with the help of an interest-free loan from China. Commercial operations began in July 1976, running 1,860 km from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to New Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia.

As a major transport artery spanning East Africa and Central and Southern Africa, the TAZARA Railway is China’s largest development aid project. ■