How SGR express train could change lives as services set for launch
A train during a trial run on the Dar es Salaam-Morogoro section of the standard gauge railway earlier this year. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- The express train will enable an increase in the number of trips currently, SGR train trips are made twice a day, so the introduction of the express train will increase the number of daily trips to four between the two regions.
Dar es Salaam. It is now official. You can now work in Dar es Salaam and live in Morogoro, or vice versa, thanks to the establishment of an express electric train on the route.
It will now take only one hour and 40 minutes for one to travel between the two destinations, a massive decline from four hours on bus.
Starting Friday this week, the express train will leave Dar es Salaam for Morogoro at 6am and return at 7.10pm. From Morogoro, it will depart for Dar es Salaam at 6.20am and return at 7.30 pm.
Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC) yesterday announced a new express train from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro, starting on July 5 this year saying it will not stop at any substations.
According to the TRC statement, the express train will enable an increase in the number of trips currently, SGR train trips are made twice a day, so the introduction of the express train will increase the number of daily trips to four between the two regions.
However, the regular train will leave Dar es Salaam at 9.30am and 4pm and will depart from Morogoro at 9.30am and 4.20pm.
“The firm will continue to increase the number of trips according to the increase in passengers to provide better services. Passengers are advised to book tickets on the firm's website or at the windows inside train stations two hours before the train departs to avoid congestion,” read part of the statement.
Tanzania Bus Owners Association (Taboa) secretary-general Priscus Joseph said that the train is the largest transport in the world and it is inevitable, but at the moment there is no passenger challenge as buses are getting customers and trains are the same.
Mr Joseph advised the government to ensure that it manages the operation of the train. Taxpayers will feel bad if after a while TRC declares a loss while the number of passengers takes the kind of transport.
“We in the private sector pay taxes, so those who were employed on the train should work efficiently by considering the taxpayers' money instead of doing business as usual, the equipment has been bought at a high cost so must be protected,” he said.
Commenting on the matter, a lecturer at the College of Engineering and Technology (CoET) in the Department of Transportation and Geotechnical Engineering of the University of Dar es Salaam, Dr John Elvis said increasing the number of train trips means that one does not have to live in Morogoro or Dar es Salaam, there are many areas in between those regions, and people can start cities.
“The important thing is that the government should look into the possibility of how to promote the various areas that this train passes through, as well as the TRC to ensure that fares do not increase at this time so that it can get enough passengers,” he said.
