EDITORIAL: Why Dar city must have modern passenger train

By The Citizen

• The project, aimed at reducing traffic jams, is to be rolled out by Shumake Rails, a private American company.

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Two weeks ago, the government announced it has entered into agreement with an investor from US to establish a 13km commuter train route from the Dar es Salaam city centre to the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) by the end of  December or early next year.

The project, aimed at reducing traffic jams, is to be rolled out by Shumake Rails, a private American company.  The Transport ministry through Tanzania Railways Limited will extend the metre gauge tracks from the city centre to the airport and operate under the public-private partnership.

Upon its launch, the train is expected to ferry between 800 and 1,000 passengers per trip. It should also be noted that this won’t be a subway or an underground speed train as misconceived by some people. It will be a modern passenger train with luxury coaches plying the Dar city-JNIA route.

Though the project has been criticised in some quarters, we at The Citizen believe that the anticipated service is what Dar es Salaam City needs to lessen its maddening traffic snarl up that beleaguer the road to JNIA.

Think about these facts: It takes three-plus hours from the city centre to the airport during peak hours. During that time, a plane will have taken off at JNIA and landed at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. One that left for Mwanza will have landed and flown back!

The JNIA is currently undergoing expansion and it is certain there will be more traffic as global airlines increase their frequencies to our city.

Railway transport is always among the best ways to curb traffic jams in major urban areas worldwide. It is our belief that the envisaged plan will make movement of the people in Dar es Salaam faster and revitalise our economy, not only of the city, but that of the country as a whole.