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Transport: Tanzanian rail bridges collapse

Several railway bridges have been destroyed by recent floods on Tanzania’s Central Line railway between the capital Dodoma and Dar es Salaam, the country’s largest city and crucial sea port. The collapse of the bridges has also cut rail links with the country’s second largest city, Mwanza, on Lake Victoria.

A section of the railway across the Mkondoa river near Kilosa in the central Morogoro region could remain closed for several months. Meanwhile rail passengers are being bused between Dodoma and Dar es Salaam although parts of the road have also been flooded. About 1,000 passengers were stranded when the initial damage occurred.

It is estimated that repairs will cost about Sh4 billion as the natural course of the river also has to be restored before the bridges can be rebuilt. How long the operations will take will depend on how long the rains continue.

However the main damage will be to the country’s commercial interests that rely on the railway to transport goods to and from the port in Dar es Salaam. The troubled railway company Tanzania Railways Limited (TRL) will also suffer if goods are transferred away from rail to road haulage companies.

TRL took over the running of the Central Line railway from the defunct Tanzanian Railways Corporation three years ago and has been struggling with strikes and liquidity problems ever since.

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