Wajarumani Kufufua Reli ya Kati (Central Line)

Jamani, tuliachiwa reli nzuri na wakoloni, tukaizembea hadi ikaoza.  Sasa inabidi warudi kuifufua zaidi ya miaka 50 ya Uhuru. Tunasonga mbele, au tunarudi nyuma?  Ufisadi unaharibu nchi!

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Central Line Train in Tanzania

Kutoka The Guardian:

Germany Willing to Support Revival of Central Railway


By Khalfan Said

28th September

The German government is ready to support the reviving of the ailing central railway line, the ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Klaus Peter Brandes has revealed.

Speaking at the embassy in Dar es Salaam yesterday, during the questions and answers session at a news brief on the upcoming second African Logistics Conference, (ALC), the envoy said, “If the government of Tanzania thinks that Germany can participate in reviving central railway line, we are ready,” he affirmed.

The envoy also said his government has been supporting many projects like water and electricity, as those were the projects picked by the government of Tanzania to receive assistance from German. “So far the government of Tanzania has not yet asked for German’s support on the re-built central line,” he clarified.

The Central Line (formerly named by German as: Tanganjikabahn or Mittellandbahn) was the second railway project coming into existence in the colony of the then German East Africa after the Usambara Railway, it runs west from Dar es Salaam to Kigoma via Dodoma and another route leads to Mwanza.

“I would be more than happy to see the minister for transport, Dr Harrison Mwakyembe when he comes back from Germany where he went to get the German experience on railway sector.” Ambassador Klaus said.

Currently Dr Mwakyembe is on a work trip in German.

Speaking about the ALC event which will take place later next month in Dar es Salaam, Ambassador Klaus said, the conference comes in a crucial moment as Sub-Sahara Africa faces some unique opportunities as well as challenges in terms of logistics and supply chain managers and humanitarian logisticians in particular.
Briefing the media on the aim of the conference, Dr. Jennifer Schwarz, from Swiss based Kuehne Foundation, said in addition to traditional logistics topics like “Railway and Development” the conference will cover mainly subjects like, capacity building in humanitarian logistics, food security and distribution in Eastern Africa.

The conference that will take place on October 4 to 5 this year has been organized by the foundation and the National Institute of Transport, (NIT), with support from various stake holders including the German embassy.

On his part, NIT director general, Elifadhili Mgonja, said the conference will bring together experts across the globe in railway transportation and humanitarian logistics. “The main objective is to share among participants the expertise, experiences and intelligent planning tools on how best the Tanzania railway sub sector could be molded to serve better the individual country’s economy.” He said.

The history of railways in Tanzania goes way back in time during the German colonial era in the early 1880s’ the first ever railway line in East Africa was built by the Germans from Tanga.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Tanzania Train routes

Central Line Kigoma

Central Line (Reli ya Kati) inafufuka. Lakini jamani ni mabehwa yale yale ya tangu nasoma Tabora Girls 1980's! Duh! Sikuamini macho yangu nilipoona picha. Nikajiona kama nimeweka begi kwenye rack, na nakaa kwenye kiti kurudi shule! Duh!  Lakini cha muhimu kuliko behewa ya kisasa ni kufika salama. Next time nikienda Bongo nitasafiri na Central Line nijikumbushe enzi za udenti!  Asante Kaka Maggid.

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Kutoka Mjengwa Blog


Kaka Maggid ndani ya Behewa.



Kaka Maggid Mjengwa jana kwenye behewa la Central Line Kigoma



Behewa la First Class Central Line ilipoanza kazi 1914.


... Usafri wa treni utakuwa wa uhakika zaidi kuliko ilivyo sasa. Kwamba wengi tutachagua kusafiri kwa treni kwa vile ni nafuu zaidi na salama zaidi. Na ni usafiri rafiki kwa mazingira.


Siku hiyo inakuja kwa vile tunachoshindwa sasa ni kuwepo kwa wachache ' wanaohujumu' kwa makusudi usafiri wetu wa njia ya reli.

Mapato yanayopatikana yanapotea. Kuna abiria wanaosafiri bila nauli zao kuingia kwenye Shirika bali kwenye mifuko ya wanaojiita wajanja. Kuna mizigo pia inayosafirishwa bila mapato yake kuingia kwenye Shirika, bali, kwenye mifuko ya wanaojiita wajanja. Hali hiyo ni kwa reli ya kati na reli ya Uhuru pia, kwa maana ya Tazara.

Na hao wanaojiita wajanja wengine ni viongozi tuliowapa dhamana za kusimamia mashirika yetu ya umma.

Siku hiyo inakuja tutakapokuwa na mfumo utakaohakikisha mwisho wa wanaojiita wajanja.

Hivyo basi, siku hiyo inakuja tutakapoona fahari kusafiri kwa njia ya reli yanayooendeshwa na mashirika yetu ya umma chini ya uongozi wa wazalendo wa nchi hii watakaokuwa tayari hata kutoa fedha za mifukoni mwao kuhakikisha treni zinatembea kwenye reli zetu.

Naam, siku hiyo inakuja....

Na hili ni Neno La Leo.

Maggid Mjengwa,
Kigoma.
0788 111 765

Msomi Afanya Fuja Kwenye Treni New York

Cheki huyo dada mwenye asili ya kihindi anayodai ni msomi kondakta wa treni alivyomwomba aache kutumia lugha ya matusi akiwa kwenye simu yake ya mkononi! Watu wanauliza kama huyo kondakta angekuwa mzungu anejibiwa hivyo. Mwisho watu wanakubai kuwa pamoja na usomi wa huyo dada hana akili za kuwa na watu hadaharani.

Central Line Imebomoka!

(Pichani Mkondoa Bridge Kilosa)

Jamani, mbona ni habari ya kusikitisha! Baadhi ya madaraja kwenye njia ya reli ya Central zimechukuliwa na maji. Na ni bahati hakuna treni iliyozolewa na maji hayo! Wadau wanaojua Central Line, wanajua sehemu zilizotajwa kwenye story. Lakini jamani, mbona Central Line ni ile ile ya Mjerumani aliyojenga 1908! Waikarabati jamani, na tena waongeze track nyingine!

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Kutoka ippmedia.com

Central Railway Rervices Off Till April
By Correspondent

7th January 2010

Mkondoa River section of Central Railway in Kilosa District, Morogoro Region, whose destruction by flood waters has led to three-month suspension of passenger and cargo transportation.
The government has announced the immediate suspension – for three months – of Central Railway passenger and cargo services.

Omar Chambo, permanent secretary in the Infrastructure Development ministry, said yesterday the move was meant to pave the way for massive repairs on a section of the crucial line recently damaged by floods that also swept away bridges in Kilosa District, Morogoro Region.

Addressing journalists at Kilosa, where he was for a post-flooding road inspection tour, the PS said it was not yet established how much the repair work would cost “but the government has already set aside 4bn/- for the replacement of the damaged main bridge across Mkondoa River”.

“As I speak, the (railway) section between Munisagara station in Kilosa District and Gulwe in Dodoma is impassable, with several bridges destroyed. The repair work will take at least three months,” he said.

Chambo explained that it was still raining “extremely heavily” in Dodoma Region and the draining of the raging waters into Mkondoa River was impeding plans to begin the repair works.

Elaborating on the extent of the havoc caused by the floods and gravity of the task ahead of the repair team, he said Kimamba and its environs were the worst hit areas “where flood waters can still be seen raging across the road”.

It is understood that the immediate replacement of several culverts and four small bridges is a must for the situation to improve. Kilosa is situated some 300km west of Dar es Salaam and has been especially vulnerable to floods in the recent past, which has led to the termination of the train services.

“We have lined up a team of engineers from the ministry to work closely with their counterparts from Tanzania Railway Limited, (TRL) to make sure that the problem is fully addressed to ease convenience to the people,” PS Chambo pointed out.

He said the pace of the repair work would largely depend on the duration and intensity of the ongoing rains and could be slower than planned “if the floods run on”.

“Our ambition is to restore services as soon as possible. We understand how important the central railway is, especially for members of the business community and the larger public in Dodoma, Kigoma, Morogoro, Mwanza, Shinyanga, Singida and Tabora regions,” he added.

Meanwhile, the government has also announced temporary arrangements under which passenger and cargo trains will now start from Dodoma instead of Dar es Salaam until the damaged section of the central railway is repaired.

Torrential rains that have pounded Kilosa District in the last three weeks have rendered thousands of people homeless and in urgent need of relief supplies such as food, shelter and drinking water.

Medical practitioners have been working around the clock to help prevent outbreaks of waterborne diseases like cholera and dysentery.

The announcement comes barely a week since TRL cancelled all central railway passenger services after rains led to severe flooding in Dodoma and nearby regions.

Over 1,000 passengers travelling from Kigoma and Mwanza to Dar es Salaam were stranded at the Dodoma central railway station before proceeding with their journey by bus.

TRL public relations officer Midladj Maez was recently quoted as saying all train services would remain cancelled until the situation was back to normal.

“Following the ongoing rains in regions which our railway traverses, especially the Godegode and Mzaganza sections, trains scheduled to leave Dar es Salaam yesterday and Friday have been cancelled,” he said.

All passengers booked on the trains were refunded their money at the TRL offices where they had bought tickets.

Torrential rains began falling in Tanzania in earnest on Boxing Day but were confined to the north-eastern highlands, the eastern half of Dodoma, parts of Morogoro Region, the western highlands and the southern regions.

However, they have since spread and caused several deaths and massive destruction to houses and infrastructure generally in different parts of the country.

The Tanzania Meteorological Agency on Monday warned of the likelihood of worse flooding to come, continuing until March.

Wafanyakazi wa Reli bado Kulipwa Mishahara

Hivi jamani, nauli wanaotoza abiria inakwenda wapi? Hela ya kubeba mizigo inaenda wapi? Siewlewi kwa nini wanasema wanashindwa kulipa wafanyakazi mishahara yao. Nina uhakika hao mabosi wanalipwa mishahara wao.

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Kutoka ippmedia.com

TRL strike now countrywide
By Guardian team
3rd December 2009

The central line cargo and passenger transportation system was paralyzed yesterday after workers of the Tanzania Railways Limited (TRL) downed tools over delay of last month’s salaries.

Due to the boycott, hundreds of passengers have been stranded at the Dar es Salaam central and other stations, with reports saying that a passenger train en-route got stuck at stations near Manyoni.

Tanzania Railway Workers Union (Trawu) secretary-general Sylvester Rwegasira confirmed reports of the strike, saying it was aimed at putting pressure on the defiant TRL management to pay their salaries for November.

In a move which deepens the management crisis, enraged workers of the cash-troubled TRL yesterday morning stormed the company’s headquarters along Sokoine Drive in the city in attempts to force the foreign and other senior management staff out of their offices.

However a police squad, led by the Railway Police Commander, Ruth Makeremo, who led armed police deployment at the offices, saved the day for the management by stopping the workers who had already arrived at the offices.

The workers had gathered at the central station in Dar es Salaam at around 11 in the morning for a briefing on the payment of their salaries. When they were told that there was no money, a large group of them decided to storm the offices to force the management out.

According to Rwegasira, the message about the defiant position of the management was shared among all workers across the country and the strike became effective immediately.

Shortly after the briefing, a group of workers, who carried placards castigating their management, moved to the TRL headquarters where the MD and his team were forced to pack and leave immediately. But police arrived to stop the workers.

The Railway Police chief Makeremo said there was no assurance of security for the management to leave in peace, that is why the exercise was suspended. Additionally, she said she had not been informed by respective government authorities about the move.

On Tuesday, the workers stormed offices of their management and deflated tyres of vehicles of the company’s senior staff over the same claims. Due to the chaos, hundreds of passengers who were destined for upcountry regions from Dar es Salaam were stranded after workers on duty to take the train to Mwanza and Kigoma via Morogoro, Dodoma and Tabora refused to work.

Cars whose tyres were deflated included that of the TRL managing director Hundi-Lal Chaudhary, a Prado bearing registration number T405 AVL. Other cars were T760 AWG, T898 AZX, T523 AVA, T814 AUV and T925 AWG.

Reacting to the workers claims, the TRL managing director Hundi-Lal Chaudhary maintained that his management can’t raise 1.6bn/- needed to settle November salaries for the workers.

Infrastructure Development ministry permanent secretary Omar Chambo had said earlier this week that the government had already disbursed 522m/- as part of the November salaries for the workers, which is part of its contribution to help the TRL end the problem.

In mid October this year, the TRL workers staged an eight-hour stand-off to end an administration and Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (Sumatra) planned test of locomotives and coaches. The workers claimed that carriages were defective and unworthy to carry passengers.

The workers were pressing for two basic demands; refusal to have 25 passenger coaches and 23 diesel power engines tested all the way to Dodoma, citing safety reasons and the immediate payment of their arrears.

TRL has been experiencing incidents of chaos and strikes by workers since the new management under the Indian firm, RITES, took over operations of the central railway line some three years ago.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Ajali ya Treni Morogoro - Central Line

Picha Kutoka Michuzi Blog

Wadau, inasemekana hii ajali ya treni ilisababishwa na 'sabotage' yaani kuna watu walienda na kuondoa misumari kwenye njia ya reli kwa maksudi! Treni ilipata ajali kati ya Mkata na Mazimbu. Nchi yetu inakwenda wapi?!

Ninaomba waliosababisha ajali hiyo wachukuliwa hatua kali za kisheria na hata wapew adhabu ya kifo! Wapepelezi wafanya kazi hao washenzi wakamatwe!

Ni mwaka 2009, kwa nini Central Line bado ina reli moja tu, badala ya mbili zinazopishana? Reli ni ile ile tuliyoachiwa na wakoloni! Ninakumbuka kusafiri sana na Central Line kwenda Tabora Girls na kuona familia enzi hizo.

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70 Injured as Train Derails

Na Robert Ochieng

9th August 2009
One of the injured passenger get treatment at Morogoro Regional Hospital yestarday.
About 70 commuters were injured, scores of them critically, when their Kigoma/Mwanza-bound passenger train from Dar es Salaam derailed in Kilosa district in Morogoro region, Railway Police Commander Ruth Makelemo has said.

Makelemo said the accident occurred at around 3 a.m., when the locomotive’s engine including its six trailing coaches overturned between Mkata and Mazimbu villages.

She said the accident victims were taken to Morogoro Regional Hospital, where some were treated and discharged while others, who sustained serious injuries, were admitted for thorough treatment.

With investigations to establish the cause of the accident underway, she said, Tanzania Railways Limited (TRL) had provided another locomotive for the unhurt passengers of the ill-fated train to continue with their journey.

Railway officials opine sabotage after they discovered a spanner, which they suspect was used to unscrew two bolts from the rails, but said they were waiting for the outcome of their joint investigation with the police.

Morogoro Police Commander Tobias Andengenye said that a team of police investigators had been dispatched to the accident scene.

“Right now, it is too early to give any conclusive remarks since we do not have all the facts yet. However, as soon as we have a final report in place, we’ll let you know the cause of the incident and our next line of action,” RPC Andengenye said over the phone.

Morogoro Regional Commissioner Issa Machibya, who visited the accident scene, however, cited foul play after unknown people pulled out the rails.

As recently as last week, rail workers downed their tools demanding better pay and improved working conditions, but TRL manager Hundj-Lalshaudhary quickly dismissed links between the protests and the accident.

The workers resumed their duties after a deal was struck between them and the management, with the latter agreeing to look into the grievances of the former, which have constantly put the two sides at loggerheads since the organisation was privatised.

Nzega MP Lucas Selelii (CCM) last month described controversy-riddled TRL as bearing the hallmarks of the infamous Richmond corruption scandal.

Selelii, a member of the parliamentary select committee chaired by Dr Harrison Mwakyembe that investigated the Richmond power generation scandal, said in an interview with a local daily that reports of a contract for the leasing of locomotive engines and coaches from India were “scandalous.’’

He said the Government, through TRL, had been forced to pay much-inflated rental fees and capacity charges for the hired equipment - in a similar manner to how the state-run Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited (TANESCO) was financially crippled by the Richmond deal.

According to the MP, the second-hand locomotives and coaches were being leased from India at a staggering cost of $31m (approx. 41bn/-).

Going by the provisions of the lease agreement, this means TRL would eventually be forced to pay a whopping 4.555bn/- in capacity charges for 25 locomotive engines and 23 coaches.

In addition to these capacity charges, the financially-troubled railway firm has already had to folk out a total of 1.181bn/- for the shipment of the engines from India to the port of Dar es Salaam.

Last week when contributing to the debate on the 2009/10 budget proposals of the Ministry of Infrastructure Development in Parliament, the Nzega legislator was one of several MPs who launched strong arguments for the TRL contract to be terminated forthwith.

The contract itself sees the Indian investor company RITES Limited owning 51 per cent of shares in the company while the Tanzanian Government maintains a minority 49 per cent stake.

Selelii said that the privatisation of TRL amounted to “daylight robbery’’ and blasted the Government for entertaining such a poor deal.

He asserted that the investor firm leased worn-out engines and coaches to TRL, which is now paying through its nose for the dilapidated equipment imported from India.

The Government has said a special task force appointed to review the TRL privatisation contract with a view of amending some of the key provisions therein, has already completed its task.

Ajali ya Treni Dodoma

Wadau, nimeona kwenye ippmedia.com kuwa treni ya Central Line imepata ajali huko Dodoma kati ya vituo vya Gulwe na Msagali. Wanasema kuwa watu 7 wamekufa na watu 9 wameumia.

Bado natafuta habari zaidi.

http://www.ippmedia.com/

Treni Pakistan

Ndio maana ukimwambia mhindi umefika kwao wananyamaza kimya!

Mtalii wa kiMarekani afa baada ya Kugongwa na Treni Italia

Leo kuna habari za kusikitisha kutoka Italy. Mzee wa kizungu kutoka California, Frank Phel, (74) na mke wake walikuwa wanatalii huko Ulaya. Walikuwa wamemalzia cruise ya meli kwenye bahari ya Mediteranean, na walifika Roma, Italia.

Walikuwa wanasubiri usafiri wa basi asubuhi kwenda Poland. Basi ilikuwa inaondokea huko kwenye kituo cha treni. Ugomvi ukatokea katika ya kundi fulani. Wale wazee walianza kuwa na hofu. Akatokea Mzee wa KiItalia na kuanza kuongea nao na kujifanya rafiki. Akawaletea vinywaji aina ya cappucino. Kumbe mle yule baba alitia madawa ya kulevya. Wale wazee walikunywa zile cappuciono. Walivyolala, yule mzee wa kiItalia kawaibia kila kitu walichokuwa nacho. Kuamka asubuhi, na kuona hawana kitu, yule mzee alimwambia mke wake kuwa anaenda kutafuta mizigo yao, huko bado kalewa yale madawa. Alikuwa anatembea kwenye njia ya treni ndipo aligongwa.

Kwanza polisi wa Italia walidhania kuwa yule Mzee alijiua. Baada ya kuchunguza video ya stesheni waliona yule MwiItalia anawapa zile cappucino na kuwaibia.

Hivi sasa, yule MwiItalia amekamatwa na polisi. Sijui sheria za Italia lakini huyo mshenzi anastahilia dhabu ya kifo! Habari zinasema huko Roma, kuna vibaka na wezi wengi wanaovizia watalii!

Halahala mkienda ugenini.

Kwa habari zaidi someni:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hz8hZJTqNhvvXOzMT042YJtbW5BwD90TQ4SO0

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/27/italy.internationalcrime