Tazara freight traffic up 9 per cent in first quarter

Dar es Salaam. The volume of cargo transported by Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (Tazara) has gone by 9.4 per cent during the first quarter of the current financial year, thanks to interventions by the two-shareholding governments.

According to a joined statement released on Friday after the 109 meeting of the Tazara board of directors, the railway line transported 29,061 metric tonnes of freight during the first quarter of the 2016/2017 financial year.

During a similar period last year, Tazara transported 26,571 metric tonnes of cargo.

Similarly, passenger numbers were above target by 58 per cent, the statement reads. “Between Makambako and Kidatu in Tanzania, the Udzungwa shuttle train conveyed 78,246 passengers, 58 per cent above the First Quarter target of 49,500 passengers, compared to the 66,522 mark achieved in the corresponding first quarter of 2015/16 Financial Year,” said the statement.

The two-shareholding governments of Tanzania and Zambia intervenes in Tazara’s operations through the provision of working capital support, which facilitated an enabling business environment and stability in operations.

It was observed that the performance of the interstate passenger trains between Dar es Salaam and New Kapiri-Mposhi improved by 20.2 per cent having transported 133,863 passengers during the first quarter of 2016/17 compared to 111,335 passengers during the first quarter of 2015/16