HEAVY
rains have thrown normal life out of gear as cargo trains operated by
the Tanzania Railway Limited (TRL) can no longer transport goods from
the country’s north-eastern coastal port of Tanga to upcountry regions,
authorities said Tuesday.
Mwanasha Tumbo, the Muheza District Commissioner, said that the cargo train transport service has been temporally suspended following the damage caused by rains on the rail tracks.
She said there were several places across the railroad which had been damaged from Tanga down to Ruvu—a junction where the train joined the central line.
Tumbo revealed that one of the important bridges in Muheza District along the rail section has been destroyed by flood water.
She said that the Amtico River bridge was one of the bridges that have been affected by the floods, making cargo train services impossible.
“But TRL technicians have arrived in the swept bridge and they have started fixing it so that rail transport can resume,” Tumbo said.
Before suspending the services, the train was used for transporting cement from Tanga Cement Company (TCC).It also carried petroleum products from a strategic oil depot-Gulf Bulk Petroleum (GBP) (T) to various destinations, mainly the central corridor through the Link Line.
The Tanga-Ruvu section is part of the Tanga Railway line, which was initially established as Usambara Railway line whose construction started in 1893 and reached Arusha Railway Station in 1929. Then, it was used to offer cargo and passenger train services.
The primary objective was to facilitate movement of sisal, coffee, cotton, wheat and tea from rail heads for the export markets. In the 1980s, services with the line started deteriorating and were finally grounded.
In recent years, the Tanzanian government resume transport services of the railway line, beginning with cargo trains in an effort to tap into potentials embedded in the Tanga Port—the country’s second-largest maritime facility after Dar es Salaam.
Mwanasha Tumbo, the Muheza District Commissioner, said that the cargo train transport service has been temporally suspended following the damage caused by rains on the rail tracks.
She said there were several places across the railroad which had been damaged from Tanga down to Ruvu—a junction where the train joined the central line.
Tumbo revealed that one of the important bridges in Muheza District along the rail section has been destroyed by flood water.
She said that the Amtico River bridge was one of the bridges that have been affected by the floods, making cargo train services impossible.
“But TRL technicians have arrived in the swept bridge and they have started fixing it so that rail transport can resume,” Tumbo said.
Before suspending the services, the train was used for transporting cement from Tanga Cement Company (TCC).It also carried petroleum products from a strategic oil depot-Gulf Bulk Petroleum (GBP) (T) to various destinations, mainly the central corridor through the Link Line.
The Tanga-Ruvu section is part of the Tanga Railway line, which was initially established as Usambara Railway line whose construction started in 1893 and reached Arusha Railway Station in 1929. Then, it was used to offer cargo and passenger train services.
The primary objective was to facilitate movement of sisal, coffee, cotton, wheat and tea from rail heads for the export markets. In the 1980s, services with the line started deteriorating and were finally grounded.
In recent years, the Tanzanian government resume transport services of the railway line, beginning with cargo trains in an effort to tap into potentials embedded in the Tanga Port—the country’s second-largest maritime facility after Dar es Salaam.
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