PM Hon. Kassim Majaliwa witnesses the first trial run of SGR train from Dar es Salam
Tanzania’s Prime Minister Hon. Kassim Majaliwa has witnessed the inaugural trial run of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) train from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma on 21 April 2024. This trial train transported various government officials and religious leaders from across Tanzania, for a special prayer session aimed at blessing the nation as it approaches the 60th anniversary of the Tanzanian Union.
The Deputy Minister of Transport, Hon. David Kihenzile, assured Tanzanians that by July this year, the SGR trains will officially start transporting passengers from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma.
The Managing Director of Tanzania Railways Corporation, Mr. Masanja Kungu Kadogosa, noted that as Tanzania commemorates 60 years of the Union, one of the government’s achievements is the construction of the strategic international SGR, which is being implemented at a cost of 10.01 billion US dollars, equivalent to 23.3 trillion Tanzanian shillings, and is at various stages of completion.
“The trial work continues with passenger locomotives and carriages; we are eagerly awaiting the freight carriages as that is where more economic benefits and opportunities lie,” said Mr Kadogosa.
Tanzania Railways is preparing to begin SGR train operations, so far, it has received 65 out of 89 passenger carriages and 9 out of 19 locomotive heads for pulling passenger and freight carriages, as well as one out of ten sets of modern Electric Multiple Units (EMU).
