Placing emphasis on the size of the railway system to be used in Dar es Salaam is of great importance if it is to be more productive. This advice was given to the Railway Transport Advisory Committee (RTAC) by the minister for Transport, Dr Harrison Mwakyembe.

The RTAC has been advised to reappraise the size of the railway system, as the meter gauges are incompatible in affiliated countries. Mwakyembe assured stakeholders that if this problem is not checked correctly, cargo cannot be transported efficiently.

The minister highlighted the incongruence of the railway lines, pointing out that the central line operates a 1 m gauge. East African countries, on the other hand, run on a standard meter gauge, which is 1.435 m. This also differs from the cap gauge used by Tanzania Zambia Railways Authority (Tazara), running all the way through the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa, which is 1.067 m. Inevitably, a mistake at this point would make Tanzania miss out on a lot of consignments transported to those countries.

“The railway transport sector in Tanzania has been characterised by high costs, unreliability, poor safety standards and low-quality services due to inadequate investment,” said the minister.

He added that all of these were caused by lack of policy guiding the railway transport sector, as well as laws, policies and regulatory systems that did not promote competition and efficiency.

The RTAC chairman, EngMalima Bundara, agreed on a mutual railway line size for most countries to use. He added that other challenges include the invasion of railway reserves, in which the policy should detail legal measures to be taken against those violating directives, and attracting stakeholders to invest in the railway sector. “We aim at making this policy beneficial to our growing economy. That is why we have decided to consult all railway stakeholders.”