Tanzania's Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is the country's largest transport infrastructure project since independence and is symbolic of its ambition to become a trade and logistics hub. The electrified line will connect the port city of Dar es Salaam to major towns in the hinterland before extending to Mwanza on the shores of Lake Victoria and Kigoma on Lake Tanganyika. It will then connect to Burundi, Rwanda and the DRC to create one of the region's most advanced rail corridors.
The SGR is set to replace an ageing metre-gauge line and the slow, diesel-powered trains that run on it. It accommodates electric passenger trains travelling at 160 km per hour and electric freight trains travelling at 120 km per hour - high speeds that the government says will cut travel times in half and reduce transport costs for both businesses and the public.
Construction started in 2017 and some sections of the line are already complete and operational. They include the stretch connecting Dar es Salaam to Dodoma, the country's administrative capital.
Since passenger services commenced on this section in mid 2024, some 6m customers have used the service, the Tanzania Railway Corporation announced in May. Speed has been a major draw. The trip from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma can take anywhere between 7 and 10 hours by road. On the SGR passengers can make the journey in a little under 4 hours.
Originally published by African Business.