• Mwanza–Isaka SGR segment reaches 68% completion.

• Project is final lot of phase one linking Dar es Salaam to Mwanza.

• Rail upgrade aims to cut travel time and strengthen regional trade links.

The 341-kilometer standard gauge railway (SGR) segment linking Mwanza and Isaka in Tanzania is 68% complete, according to the Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC).

Track laying — including 249 km of main line and 92 km of passing loops — has reached 53%, while bridge construction stands at 90%. Work is also ongoing on stations, culverts and other supporting infrastructure.

The stretch, valued at 3.06 trillion Tanzanian shillings (about $1.2 billion), is the fifth and final lot of phase one of the national SGR network. The first phase is designed to connect Dar es Salaam to Mwanza by 2028, covering a total distance estimated between 1,219 and 1,231 kilometers.

Launched in 2017, the SGR project forms part of Tanzania’s broader plan to modernize its transport system and reduce the economic and environmental costs associated with road traffic, including fuel expenses, travel time, accidents and emissions.

The commissioning in June 2024 of a 300-kilometer segment between Dar es Salaam and Morogoro — comprising 205 km of main line and 95 km of passing loops — has already shortened travel times significantly. According to TRC, journeys that previously took four to five hours on the old meter-gauge line now take a maximum of two hours on the SGR, compared with three to four hours by road.

Phase two of the project, supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB), will extend the network toward the northwest, including links between Tabora and Kigoma and between Uvinza and Malagarasi.

Once fully operational, the SGR network is expected to strengthen territorial integration and reinforce Tanzania’s position as a regional logistics and port hub, with planned connections to landlocked East African countries including Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.

Henoc Dossa