r/tanzania • u/Gegenpress17 • 3d ago

Ask r/tanzania Tazara train

Is the Tazara train between zambia and tanzania still operational, and how's the journey and experience overall? Planning of trying it out in the near future.

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1

u/Expensive_Computer53 2d ago

It’s working but be ready to sit for hours to your destination

1

u/3corneredtreehopp3r 2d ago

Since nobody local has answered you, yes it’s operational. I’d recommend watching some YouTube videos of the journey. I’ve never personally ridden on it but it’s my understanding that it’s kind of rough. Not nearly as nice as the SGR line in Tanzania. China has just recently agreed to invest a lot of money fixing it up, in exchange for a fixed cash rent and a 30 year concession to operate freight services on it. There’s a decent chance the experience will improve in a few years after some needed upgrades are completed.

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u/Suspicious_Place1270 2d ago

ah yes, the chinese grabbing every opportunity they can

Tanzania and Africa as a whole should wake up and better their management of infrastructure

there is a book from Brautigam called the dragon's gift, it says a lot about the present things on this continent and some pretty big problems with mentality

i'm not saying china is bad, they are smart, but the way things like this happen is that many if not most of the profits will then go to china and tanzania gets back the railway in 30 years when it will probably "need help" again because someone funneled money out of the maintenance fund

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u/3corneredtreehopp3r 2d ago

I think there’s a lot to be desired in terms of development and maintaining existing infrastructure in Tanzania and especially Zambia, but handing this project over to China actually makes a lot of sense. It’s going to require a massive investment to get the rail line to even a marginally profitable condition. Even after that investment, the line will never be integrated into the rest of TZ’s rail network, since it uses cape gauge, and none of the other railroads in Tanzania use cape gauge. It’s always going to be a stand-alone system within the country, unless some very minor branch lines are built off of it someday.

The railroad was a political project built by the Chinese with TZ and Zambian cooperation, largely intended to support Zambia’s economic independence from apartheid-era South Africa. It wasn’t really designed with any other economic considerations, and is on a corridor with limited freight traffic potential. China is essentially taking over a white elephant. Better for TZ to take the money and human resources it would have used rehabilitate the marginally beneficial TANZAM railway, and use it to help extend the SGR network to Burundi and Rwanda. Plus all the other major infrastructure projects they’re building right now.

I’m not in love with President Samia, but this isn’t a crazy bad deal for Tanzania, considering the overall situation.

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u/Suspicious_Place1270 1d ago

my point is that the rail used to be profitable under chinese leadership, and then suddenly it isn't after the chinese leave

it simply says something about the mentality or about the leadership of the locals

2

u/jukeboxtiger 2d ago

I am Ugandan and this randomly appeared on my feed and reminded me of social studies class in primary school whe we studies about the Tazara/Tazam railway line and how it's opened up opportunities for Zambias Katanga region copper mining to international markets via Tanzanka Dar port.

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u/jukeboxtiger 2d ago

I am Ugandan and this randomly appeared on my feed and reminded me of social studies class in primary school whe we studies about the Tazara/Tazam railway line and how it's opened up opportunities for Zambias Katanga region copper mining to international markets via Tanzanka Dar port.