Summary
* The inaugural train consists of 50 wagons carrying 100 containers. GSM, the first client, provided the initial cargo. Container loading operations have commenced at Pugu, with infrastructure improvements ongoing at Malindi Yard to strengthen container handling capacity.
* This milestone follows TRC’s earlier launch of passenger services and transportation of goods, including rice and cement.
By Prosper Makene
DAR ES SALAAM: THE Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) has launched container transportation services using the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), expanding its commercial operations and reducing port congestion. The service will improve cargo transportation to central regions of the country.
Speaking at the inaugural container train departure from Pugu in Dar es Salaam to Ihumwa in Dodoma Region, TRC’s Acting Director of Transport Services, Mr. Focus Makoye Sahani, said the train covers 420 kilometers from Dar es Salaam.
This milestone follows TRC’s earlier launch of passenger services and transportation of goods, including rice and cement.
“Today we have expanded our business scope by introducing containerized cargo services. Our first container train to Ihumwa, Dodoma, has officially commenced operations, and we have received a strong commitment from our first client,” Mr. Sahani said.
The inaugural train consists of 50 wagons carrying 100 containers. GSM, the first client, provided the initial cargo. Container loading operations have commenced at Pugu, with infrastructure improvements ongoing at Malindi Yard to strengthen container handling capacity.
Mr.Shabani noted that the initiative will ease port congestion and implement the Director General’s directive to establish Inland Container Depots (ICDs) in Morogoro and Ihumwa.
“We will have an ICD in Morogoro, where customers transporting goods to Mbeya and Iringa will collect their cargo. Additionally, there is the Ihumwa ICD,” he said.
The journey to Morogoro takes a short time, while cargo for Dodoma is offloaded at Ihumwa ICD, which has sufficient space and infrastructure.
He called on traders and businesses to use railway transport to reduce reliance on trucks and emphasized that SGR offers a cost-effective, safe, and efficient mode of transport.
TRC received 264 SGR freight wagons in December 2024, including 200 container carrier wagons and 64 for loose cargo transportation. This marks the first time TRC has deployed container carrier wagons since launching SGR freight services on June 27, 2025.
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