TAZARA Railway
The TAZARA (full name: Tanzania - Zambia Railway), also referred to as Tansam Railway, is a railway line from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to Kapiri Mposhi at the railway Lusaka - Kitwe in Zambia.
History
The course was designed as an export route for Zambian copper ore. Was financed by the route for political reasons by the People's Republic of China to bypass the only time existing export route via South African ports. This Zambia by the then white minority governments in Rhodesia should be independent (since 1980 Zimbabwe) and South Africa. The TAZARA began operation in 1976.
Stock
The TAZARA is 1860 km long and runs in the widespread in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Zambia Cape gauge, which theoretically allows continuous train runs from Dar es Salaam to Cape Town. Consequence of the decision for the Cape gauge is that a transition of the vehicles to the otherwise meterspurigen network of Tanzanian Railways ( Tanzania Railways ) is not possible. However, there are Kidatu where touch both networks outside the capital once again, a loading dock, which is intended for the transport of goods exchange between the two rail networks.
Currently, more than 30 locomotives for the traffic on the route are available. Among others, there are vehicles of Class U30C the Friedrich Krupp AG and General Electric. In addition there are shunting. This is numerically about a quarter of the existing at commencement of operation of the locomotives. The locomotives used originally made in China no longer drive today. According to older information - presumably this figure has now also reduced - are 2061 freight cars and 98 passenger cars in use. The permissible axle load is 17 tonnes ( 20 tons for locomotives ). Since the TAZARA through very mountainous terrain - it crosses the African Great grave breach - are often disrupted by landslides, the compounds in the rainy season. Nevertheless, the TAZARA is one of the well-maintained railway lines in Africa.
Route data
- Highest gradient: 2%
- Rail Weight: 45 kg / m ( similar to DB S49 BS 90A )
- Threshold distance: 0.69 m
- Schwellenart: Concrete
- Lowest curve radius: 200 m
- Maximum train length: 600 m, 160 axes
Organization
The bi-national operating company called TCR. It is one of the states of Tanzania and Zambia Collective, a so-called Kondominalbahn, and is legally independent of the local state-owned railways. She is a member of the UIC in the Supervisory Board of the Company equal sit well cabinet members of ministerial rank from both Zambia and from Tanzania. Seat of government in Zambia is the city Mpika. There is also a railway depot.
Operation
On the entire route run two trains in each direction per week, departing Tuesdays and Fridays, arriving according to Thursday and Sunday. The scheduled travel time is in the " Express " (departure on Tuesdays ) about 36 hours. The "normal train " leaves Dar es salaam (Tanzania ) on Fridays at 13.50 clock and reaches the destination station New Kapiri Mposhi (Zambia ) 48 hours later. In addition, a pair of trains run once a week in the Tanzanian section of the track. One to three times a year, the route of the South African luxury train operator of the Pride of Africa Rovos Rail is traversed in the relation Cape Town -Dar es Salaam.
The fare for the entire range of TAZARA ( 1860 km ) is in Normalzug 86,500 / = Tshs (one way in 1st class, as of July 2013), making it far cheaper than about a flight Dar es salaam - Lusaka. The express is only marginally more expensive, the 2nd and 3rd class are only marginally cheaper than 1st class.
Freight traffic also is not very significant. As the port of Dar es Salaam has never been adequately developed and the efficiency of South African ports never reached, there was even thinking to cease operation for economic reasons. The tracks in the port of Dar es Salaam do not belong to TAZARA, but for port operations. According to UNCTAD, the employees have led to tracks and switches were allegedly always defective because the truck lobby for the transport of goods from the port had paid higher bribes than the TAZARA. Since the TAZARA has no warehouses, goods were loaded next to the tracks of the truck. In artificial fertilizers which meant, for example, during prolonged storage that the top and the bottom layer were useless. This in turn has led to crop losses in Zambia because the fertilizer was sold despite the quality reducing storage there. In addition, the average length of stay hydrated goods was in port at about six months, the cost of the general credit-financed imports increased considerably, theft made feed and the foreign trade made a total incalculable.
Others
The route from Dar es Salaam to next stop in Kisaki extends over a length of approximately 100 kilometers through the Selous Game Reserve. Here there is a high probability of trips to see while in daylight from the train giraffes and antelopes, with a little luck, elephants and hippos. Sometimes the journey from Dar es Salaam to Kisaki and back with a special charter train of Safari shall be offered and is one of the few ways to make " game drives " with the train. Many visitors to the park take the train Travel by TAZARA about Kisaki.