The Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC), has commenced the test run of the first fleet of its electric trains on the 1, 219 modern standard gauge rail tracks that is planned to revolutionise the economy of the East African nation.
On Tuesday, the TRC test-run the train from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma, a journey spanning 540 kilometres, which the new train covers in less than four hours at 160 kilometres per hour as against the original 12hours it used to take on the old trains.
The project which cost the country over $14 billion (which covers both the construction of the rail tracks, the electric locomotive engines and hundreds of coaches) when fully operational will link Tanzania with its neighbours including, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo.
The new rail tracks are running parallel to the old metre rail tracks that seem to have served its purpose for Tanzania.
The electric trains were built by Korean giant, Hyundai and has a total of 17 Hyundai Rotem electric locomotives including a customized engine and couch for the President.
Reports from the TRC indicate that close to 10 electric locomotives were already in the country in preparation for full take off of the project.
The electric locomotive were delivered alongside 59 passenger cars built by Sung Shin Rolling Stock Technology (SSRST) in South Korea.
According the Director-General of the TRC, Masanja Kungu Madogosa, the new electric rail services is scheduled to commence full commercial services in July 2024.