However, the government has involved the military in the construction of the railway line in order to help complete the project in time and also learn about the modern technology so that they can undertake such projects in the future.
“This is a very modern technology we are learning from. We must expand our knowledge so that one day we too can build something like this. We need technical knowledge to get through this project,” says the Chief of Defense Force, General Venance Mabeyo during a tour of the ongoing construction.
The Tanzania People’s Defence Force (TPDF) has about 57 civil engineers and mechanics involved in the project which includes 5,000 workers. “It is a big opportunity for us to be part of the ongoing SGR project. We are ready to send more of our experts to participate in the project anytime in case we were told to do so,” adds General Mabeyo.
The line from Morogoro to Makutupora in central Tanzania will have the capacity to transport 17 million tonnes of cargo each year. This is the second contract awarded to Yapi Merkezi which beat 15 competitors in a tender including Chinese firms.
This is the longest section of a four-phase project that will convert the country’s century-old rail line into a 2,561km standard gauge railway connecting its main port of Dar es Salaam to land-locked neighbours, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Rwanda and Uganda.
Involving the military in the construction of the railway will go a long way to help other African countries benefit from the expertise they’ve learnt from the Turkish construction firm. It also means they can help other countries develop their railways to meet international standards. https://cdn.face2faceafrica.com/www/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/0.jpg
Since his election in 2015, Magufuli has stuck to his cost-cutting measures affecting every part of the economy including his salary which is one of the lowest in Africa. He earns 9 million Tanzanian shillings ($4,000).
The East African region is revamping its railway networks. Rwanda and Tanzania have decided to use electric trains for their 1,320km standard gauge railway (SGR) line which will link to the East African regional line which passes through Kenya and Uganda.
Launched in January, the Isaka-Kigali railway line will give the two countries a competitive advantage over Kenya where their SGR was launched last year and is currently operating between Nairobi and Mombasa on diesel.
Kenya and Uganda’s SGR were built by the Chinese government, however, Rwanda and Tanzania have agreed to open tenders for the most suitable financing option.
The previous SGR project without the electric element cost the two countries $2.5 billion. They are expected to pay more for the electric option. https://cdn.face2faceafrica.com/www/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/electric-train-addis.jpg
Passengers wait to board an electric train at the St George underground station in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa
Ethiopia is the only country in the region with an electric rail line built by the Chinese government. The 756 km rail line between Addis Ababa and Djibouti costs $4 billion and travels a maximum of 13 hours for its cargo line.
Rwanda and Tanzania also want a lower time frame of a maximum of 13 hours between Dar-es-Salaam and Kigali, and 10 hours for the passenger line.
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[SIZE=7]At least seven dead in Morocco train crash[/SIZE]
AFP
https://www-thenews-com-pk.cdn.ampproject.org/i/s/www.thenews.com.pk//assets/uploads/updates/2018-10-16/381629_7683204_updates.jpg
RABAT: A passenger train derailed Tuesday near the Moroccan capital Rabat killing at least seven people and injuring over 80 others, officials said.
“Regrettably, seven people died,” regional health director Abdelmoula Boulamizat told the official MAP news agency.
National railway company boss Mohamed Rabie Khlie earlier gave a death toll of six, including the driver and his assistant, and said 86 people were injured.
Seven seriously injured people were receiving treatment in Rabat military hospital, with four in intensive care, MAP reported.
A short statement from the ONCF national railway company said “an investigation has been opened to determine the causes of the accident” and pledged to provide more information when it had it.
The crash occurred some 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of Rabat between the towns of Kenitra and Sale.
An AFP photographer saw rescue teams work to retrieve bodies from the overturned train after its carriages had toppled across the tracks.
Railway boss Khlie said that such deadly accidents were rare in the North African country, pointing to a crash in 1993 that killed 15 people as “the last one”.
King Mohammed VI said he would pay the burial costs of the victims and for the treatment of the injured, according to a royal cabinet statement.
Meanwhile Kenya is stuck with a $4-billion diesel train system…and gava wants 60b KES to ‘upgrade to electric.’ Wasn’t that in the original plan, which was to cost only $3b?
In the Ethiopian case, a dedicated power plant for the train was successfully set up - serving the entire 750km+ of railway, a significant part of it twin track (no express train waiting at Mtito Andei for the train heading in the opposite direction to pass). Yet Ethiopia is considered, actually is, a backward nation. They marveled at Kasarani Stadium.
But spear told us that they don’t have enough power to sustain the train and most of the time its not operating due to lack of power supply? Nitaamini Nani sasa
