Dar residents happy with commuter train services

A pupil disembarks from a carriage at the Dar es Salaam railway station at the end of the maiden trip of the city commuter train service yesterday morning. The service was launched by Transport minister Dr Harrison Mwakyembe. (Photo: Selemani Mpochi)

Dar residents yesterday witnessed ‘dream come true’ as the first commuter train rolled off the stage at Ubungo Maziwa station chugging through industrial and residential areas to offload its first batch of passengers at the Central Railway station.

On board was Transport Minister Dr Harrison Mwakyembe who launched the service, promising to address any the hitches likely to crop up as the services picked up.

The fare from Ubungo Maziwa to Station is 400/- for adults and 100/- for school children.

Speaking before the launching of the service, Dr Mwakyembe said the government plan was to see the train operating in the city in a bid to improve the service, noting that some of the infrastructures were still under construction.

The minister said that the response of people on the first day was remarkable as at least 900 passengers used the service; and were happy to pay a fare of 400/- for adults and 100/- for students.

He added that the service will operate for six days (from Monday to Saturday) except for Sundays and holidays. TAZARA and TRL will offer the service from 06.00am to 10.00am, break and then resume from 15.00pm to 20.00.

Dr Mwakyembe also said that the two-minute stops proposed at each station was too much, saying that only one minute was enough.

He said although there is only one train at the moment, they were working on infrastructure to support the project such as a bypass for the trains and when this is accomplished another train will come into service.

“In this fiscal year’s budget the government has allocated 5.1bn/- to hire engines and coaches from abroad…but we’ve realised that this is expensive because one engine costs 3m/-per day …so Tanzanian engineers from TAZARA and TRL have managed to rehabilitate the old coaches, engines and railway infrastructures at a cheaper cost,” he said.

He said the TRL engineers have successfully rehabilitated 14 coaches and two engines while Reli Assets Holding Company has reconstructed the railway for a cost of 2.6bn/-.

Dr Mwakyembe called on the responsible authorities to ensure that people are not running business along the railway premises.

He threatened to take punitive action against railway workers said to be involved in fuel theft.

For his part, the TRL managing director Kipallo Msamfu said the passengers will be free to buy tickets at any pay points; adding that currently the Selcom wireless machines are authorised to sell the tickets which will be valid for a day.

In August this year while tabling the budget estimates for his ministry, Dr Mwakyembe said that the use of railway transport in Dar es Salaam to reduce congestion would help over 30,000 passengers a day.

He said each train will have six coaches with the capacity of carrying 1,000 passengers. This plan will have eight runs in the morning and eight in the evening at peak hours