RESTORATION of Morogoro-Dodoma railway section which has been damaged by floods, would take at least one week, the Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC) has announced.
The company stated on Wednesday it has deployed a team of engineers to quickly bring the 120-km central line infrastructures back at its normal state to allow transport services resume.
TRC Director General, Masanja Kadogosa said quick measures would consist of relocating the rail bars to pass far from flood-prone areas such as near slopes.
“We hope that transport services will resume in the next seven to ten days if ongoing rains would stop to allow maintenance works continue,” Mr Kadogosa said when speaking to journalists in Dar es Salaam.
The ongoing downpour has affected several parts of the central railway, mentioning some of them as Kilosa (Morogoro), Gulwe (Mpwapwa), Igandu, Zuzu and Makutupora.
The Director General explained that trend shows that heavy rains damage railway infrastructures after every 10 years, noting that the company looks forward to undertake long-term solution.
“We are currently doing our best to relocate the railway to hilly areas to avoid river path. We want to relocate the whole 120-km section to far from the river,” he stated.
However, he said, a challenge remained to those areas that still have speedy flooding crossing over railway infrastructures because the situation has hindered repair works to start.
Following the suspension of the railway transport between Morogoro and Dodoma, the TRC was forced to find upcountry buses for transporting its passengers who were already in journey.
Those who were not yet en route had their money returned for taking alternative transport means to their destinations.
However, Mr Kadogosa was quick to explain that train services from Dar es Salaam to Kilimanjaro, Dar-Tanga, and Mpanda-Tabora-Mwanza still available since those parts were not affected by the rainfalls.
“We are still anticipating continuing providing transport services from Dodoma to other parts such Kigoma and Mwanza,” Mr Kadogosa noted.
