Tanzania has tested its first electric train on its version of the SGR. Following the test, the electric train achieved speeds of 160 kilometres per hour, way above Kenya’s diesel trains that have a maximum of 120 kilometres per hour.

The electric train was tested along the Dar-es-salaam and Morogoro section. This distance measures about 300 kilometres.

Tanzania’s SGR line is being constructed at a cost of $1.92 billion, which is nearly half of what Kenya spent to build the first phase of the SGR from Mombasa to Nairobi.

According to the government of Tanzania, Tanzanians will however have to wait for the  completion of the Julius Nyerere Dam that is expected to produce electricity to power locomotive engines on the SGR. This dam is set to be completed by 2024.

According to the plan, the railway lines will be complemented with overhead powerlines that will supply electricity to the trains and wagons.

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This powering project project will be developed in five phases starting from Dar es Salaam to Morogoro at 300 kilometers, which is now complete.

The electric railway line’s Phase Two runs from Morogoro to Makutupora, covering 422 kilometers. Phase Three targets to link Makutupora to Tabora Town along a track measuring 294 kilometers long. Phase four of 130 kilometers will link Tabora with Isaka.

Isaka is going to be the branching point. Here one arm will be extending to Mwanza with an added 249 kilometers in Phase Four to wind up the in-country, Dar to Lake Zone SGR network.

– Additional reporting adapted from the Daily Nation.