Transport in Tanzania - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Transport in Tanzania is mainly by road, supplemented by rail. Tanzania's

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

road network, is of limited quality and not many roads are tarmacked. Dirt roads become impassable during the rainy season and can remain impassable for days, or, more often, weeks. The only reliable surface connection from the east of the country towards Lake Tanganyika

Tanganyika

Tanganyika , later formally the Republic of Tanganyika, was a sovereign state in East Africa from 1961 to 1964. It was situated between the Indian Ocean and the African Great Lakes of Lake Victoria, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika...

-is by rail, during rainy season. Air transport is unaffordable for the vast majority of people. There are few commercial airports, but a large number of basic landing strips for small aircraft

Light aircraft

A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross take-off weight of or less.Many aircraft used commercially for freight, sightseeing, photography and scheduled flights are light aircraft.Examples of light aircraft include:...

do exist.

Railways

In 2008 Tanzania had 3689 km (2,292.2 mi) of rail, ranking it 46th in the world by extent of railway system. Tanzania's system includes 2720 km (1,690.1 mi) of gauge

Metre gauge

Metre gauge refers to narrow gauge railways and tramways with a track gauge of . In some African, American and Asian countries it is the main gauge. In Europe it has been used for local railways in France, Germany, and Belgium, most of which were closed down in mid 20th century. Only in Switzerland...

, or narrow gauge

Narrow gauge

A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...

, and 969 km (602.1 mi) of gauge

Rail gauge

Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...

track.

Standards

Coupling (railway)
Coupling (railway)
A coupling is a mechanism for connecting rolling stock in a train. The design of the coupler is standard, and is almost as important as the railway gauge, since flexibility and convenience are maximised if all rolling stock can be coupled together.The equipment that connects the couplings to the...

: Norwegian
Railway brake: Air (?). It is not clear if they use air or vacuum brake
Vacuum brake
The vacuum brake is a braking system employed on trains and introduced in the mid-1860s. A variant, the automatic vacuum brake system, became almost universal in British train equipment and in those countries influenced by British practice. Vacuum brakes also enjoyed a brief period of adoption in...

s.
conversion to standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

is subject of USTDA grant.

Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC)

Tanzania

is comparatively well-served by railways. Maintenance is a problem but generally the country has been able to rely on its railways rather than highways for transport between east and west. The connections between Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....

and the eastern coast

Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...

are especially vital. For this reason highway development has been neglected in the past. Only the south-east of the country does not have access to the railway network

Tanzania Railways Corporation

The Tanzania Railways Corporation ' is a state-owned enterprise that runs one of Tanzania's two main railway networks.When the East African Railways and Harbours Corporation was dissolved in 1977 and its assets divided between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, TRC was formed to take over EARH's railway,...

. Bukoba

Bukoba

Bukoba is a town in northwest Tanzania on the western shore of Lake Victoria. It is the capital of the Kagera region. Population estimate: 100,000...

in the north west is served by a train ferry

Train ferry

A train ferry is a ship designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ferries are sometimes referred to as "car ferries", as...

link to the railhead at Mwanza

Mwanza

Mwanza is a mid-sized port city on the southern shores of Lake Victoria in northwestern Tanzania. With an urban population of 1.2 million and a metropolitan population of 2 million, it is Tanzania's second largest city, following Dar es Salaam and ahead of other major Tanzanian cities of Arusha,...

.

Proposals have been made for a new railway to link Mtwara to iron ore deposits in the west, possibly connecting to Mbeya

Mbeya

Mbeya is a city located in southwest Tanzania, Africa. Mbeya's urban population was 280,000 in 2005. Mbeya is the capital of the surrounding rural Mbeya region ....

.

The central line between Kigoma

Kigoma

Kigoma is a town and lake port in western Tanzania, on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika and close to the border with Burundi. It serves as the capital for the surrounding Kigoma Region and has a population of 135,234 and an elevation of 775 m.The historic trading town of Ujiji is 6 km...

and Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam

carries international freight and passengers in transit from Burundi, DR Congo and Rwanda to the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

, and the branch from Tabora

Tabora

Tabora is the capital city of Tanzania's Tabora Region with a population of 127,880 . Tabora region is one of the largest geographical regions of Tanzania.- History :...

to Mwanza

Mwanza

carries freight and passengers between Uganda

Uganda

Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

and the Indian Ocean.

Isaka Dry Port

Isaka

Isaka is a small town and station on the Mwanza railway line of Tanzania which connects to the seaport of Dar es Salaam. In the 1980s a so-called dry port was established there to serve the landlocked countries of Burundi and Rwanda, since Isaka is on a highway, now paved, running 610 km from...

, a small town and station on the Mwanza

Mwanza

Line at its intersection with the paved highway to Kigali

Kigali

Kigali, population 965,398 , is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is situated near the geographic centre of the nation, and has been the economic, cultural, and transport hub of Rwanda since it became capital at independence in 1962. The main residence and offices of the President of...

. It has been developed into a so-called 'dry port' for trans-shipping Burundian and Rwandan road freight onto freight trains for the seaport of Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam

. There are proposals to build a railway from Isaka

Isaka

to Rwanda

Rwanda

Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

/Burundi

Burundi

Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...

Maps

2008

Work on a Line to Rwanda
Transport in Rwanda
The transport system in Rwanda centres primarily around the road network, with paved roads between the capital, Kigali and most other major cities and towns in the country...

is to start soon and it is projected that it will be completed by 2013.

2007

Isaka-Kigali railway shaping Daily News
Daily News (Tanzania)
The Daily News is a newspaper in Tanzania and owned by the Tanzanian government.-History:The Daily News was the result of a forced merger of two papers. The Standard was first published as the Tanganyika Standard in January 1930 by the Kenyan East African Standard Ltd., until 1967 when it was taken...

August 24, 2007 - CONSTRUCTION of the 450-km Isaka
Isaka
Isaka is a small town and station on the Mwanza railway line of Tanzania which connects to the seaport of Dar es Salaam. In the 1980s a so-called dry port was established there to serve the landlocked countries of Burundi and Rwanda, since Isaka is on a highway, now paved, running 610 km from...

-Kigali
Kigali
Kigali, population 965,398 , is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is situated near the geographic centre of the nation, and has been the economic, cultural, and transport hub of Rwanda since it became capital at independence in 1962. The main residence and offices of the President of...

railway will start soon after completion of the line’s survey, President Jakaya Kikwete
Jakaya Kikwete
Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete is the 4th and current President of the United Republic of Tanzania. Kikwete was born in Msoga, Bagamoyo District, Tanganyika in present day Tanzania...

said yesterday. The president, who is on an eight-day official tour of Shinyanga
Shinyanga
Shinyanga, also known as Shinyanga mji in the local Swahili language, is a city in northern Tanzania. The city is the location of the regional headquarters of Shinyanga Region as well as the district headquarters of Shinyanga Urban District...

region, told a large rally in Bukombe
Bukombe
Bukombe District is one the eight districts of the Shinyanga Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the East by the Kahama District, to the North by the Kagera Region, to the West by the Kigoma Region and to the South by the Tabora Region....

district that the line’s survey was currently at an advanced stage.
Central line to have standard gauge? proposed by Dr. Maua Daftari
Maua Abeid Daftari
Maua Abeid Daftari is a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Tanzania.- Appointments :* Deputy Minister for Infrastructure Development in 2007. As Deputy Minister she made a proposal to convert the gauge of Tanzania Railways Central line from narrow gauge to standard gauge.- Source :* ...

.

TAZARA Railway

The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA), formerly also called TanZam Railway. operates 1860 km (1,156 mi) of narrow gauge track (to match Zambian/Southern African networks) between Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam

and Kapiri Mposhi

Kapiri Mposhi

Kapiri Mposhi is a small town in Zambia. Located north of Lusaka, it stands on the Great North Road and is significant for the railway connection between Zambia Railways line from Kitwe to Lusaka and Livingstone and western terminal of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority from Dar-es-Salaam since...

in Zambia

Zambia

Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....

(of which 969 km (602 mi) is in Tanzania

Tanzania

and 891 km (554 mi) is in Zambia

Zambia

); is not a part of Tanzania Railways Corporation

Tanzania Railways Corporation

. Because of the difference in gauge, this system doesn't connect to the Tanzanian Railway Network. However, a container trans-shipment yard to transfer freight containers

Intermodal container

An intermodal container is a standardized reusable steel box used for the safe, efficient and secure storage and movement of materials and products within a global containerized intermodal freight transport system...

between TAZARA and Tanzania Railways Corporation trains has been built at Kidatu

Kidatu

Kidatu is a town in southern Tanzania located in Kilombero district, Morogoro Region. The local population is about 3300. Primary economic activity is the large Illovo sugar plantation.Kidatu is a town in central Tanzania...

near Morogoro

Morogoro

Morogoro is a city with an urban population of 206,868 in the southern highlands of Tanzania, 190 km west of Dar es Salaam. It is the capital of the Morogoro Region...

. This allows containers to be shipped from as far as Uganda

Uganda

and Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

via the Lake Victoria train ferries

Train ferry

and the Kidatu yard to the Southern African rail network via Zambia without leaving the rail system.

Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...

- ocean port - 8 km from TRC line

Kidatu
Kidatu
Kidatu is a town in southern Tanzania located in Kilombero district, Morogoro Region. The local population is about 3300. Primary economic activity is the large Illovo sugar plantation.Kidatu is a town in central Tanzania...

- break of gauge connection with Tanzania Railways Corporation
Tanzania Railways Corporation
The Tanzania Railways Corporation ' is a state-owned enterprise that runs one of Tanzania's two main railway networks.When the East African Railways and Harbours Corporation was dissolved in 1977 and its assets divided between Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, TRC was formed to take over EARH's railway,...

, with a container
Intermodal container
An intermodal container is a standardized reusable steel box used for the safe, efficient and secure storage and movement of materials and products within a global containerized intermodal freight transport system...

trans-shipment facility to move freight containers between TAZARA and Tanzania Railways Corporation trains
Mbeya
Mbeya
Mbeya is a city located in southwest Tanzania, Africa. Mbeya's urban population was 280,000 in 2005. Mbeya is the capital of the surrounding rural Mbeya region ....
Tunduma
Tunduma
Tunduma is a Tanzanian border town in Mbeya Region with border posts for both the Tanzam Highway and the TAZARA railway linking the two countries. It is...

- Zambian
Transport in Zambia
-Railways in Zambia:Total: 2,164 km -Zambia Rail Network Map:-Principal lines:* Zambia Railways Limited — narrow gauge, 846 km Kitwe-Ndola-New Kapiri Mposhi-Kabwe-Lusaka-Livingstone-Zimbabwe with several freight branches mostly in the Copperbelt totalling 427 km including to DR Congo...

border

Couplings and brakes

TAZARA uses AAR couplings and air brakes.

Roads

Caution: This information on Tanzanian road conditions is outdated. There has been massive highway construction across the nation over the last five years. For example, the highway from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza on Lake Victoria (once paved only up to Dodoma) is now completely paved. Similarly, the southern-bound tarmac road linking Dar es Salaam and Lindi is nearing or has already been completed. Many other road networks are also undergoing improvements. Refer to the Tanzanian ministry of transportation for more up-to-date data.
As of 2003 Tanzania had 78891 km (49,020.7 mi) of roads, of which only 6808 km (4,230.3 mi) were paved. Tanzania's roadway system ranks in 60th in the world by total length of roads.

National highways

Tanzania's principal paved highways are confined to the north-eastern, central-eastern, and south-western regions of the country:

Dodoma
Dodoma
Dodoma , officially Dodoma Urban District, population 324,347 , is the national capital of Tanzania, and the capital of the Dodoma region. In 1973, plans were made to move the capital to Dodoma...

to Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...

(connects the two capitals), 450 km (279.6 mi)
Chalinze spur from the Dodoma-Dar es Salaam highway to Tanga
Tanga, Tanzania
Tanga is both the name of the most northerly seaport city of Tanzania, and the surrounding Tanga Region. It is the Regional Headquarters of the region.With a population of 243,580 in 2002, Tanga is one of the largest cities in the country...

, 245 km (152.2 mi)
Segera spur from the Chalinze-Tanga highway to Moshi
Moshi
Moshi is a Tanzanian town with a population of 144,739 in Kilimanjaro Region. The town is situated on the lower slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro, a volcanic mountain that is the highest mountain in Africa....

and Arusha
Arusha
Arusha is a city in northern Tanzania. It is the capital of the Arusha Region, which claims a population of 1,288,088, including 281,608 for the Arusha District . Arusha is surrounded by some of Africa's most famous landscapes and national parks...

, 370 km (229.9 mi)
Arusha to the Kenyan border, 108 km (67.1 mi)
Morogoro
Morogoro
Morogoro is a city with an urban population of 206,868 in the southern highlands of Tanzania, 190 km west of Dar es Salaam. It is the capital of the Morogoro Region...

to Mbeya
Mbeya
Mbeya is a city located in southwest Tanzania, Africa. Mbeya's urban population was 280,000 in 2005. Mbeya is the capital of the surrounding rural Mbeya region ....

, 690 km (428.7 mi)

There are no paved links from the capital to the south-eastern, western, central and northern regions. Most of the roads between these areas are dirt tracks, with a few improved gravel sections. Within each area there are paved roads isolated from the rest of the paved network. The situation is:

South-east regions: paved highways link Mtwara, Lindi
Lindi
Lindi is a coastal town located at the far end of the Lindi Bay, on the Indian Ocean in southeastern Tanzania. The town is 450 kilometers south of Dar es Salaam and 105 kilometers north of Mtwara, the southernmost coastal town in Tanzania, and gives its name to the surrounding Lindi Region, one...

, Masasi
Masasi
Masasi is one of the 5 districts of the Mtwara Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the North by the Lindi Region, to the East by the Newala District, to the South by Mozambique and to the West by the Ruvuma Region....

and Masuguru on the Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

border, but the only road link to the rest of the country is impassable after rain. A paved link is proposed from Masasi
Masasi
Masasi is one of the 5 districts of the Mtwara Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the North by the Lindi Region, to the East by the Newala District, to the South by Mozambique and to the West by the Ruvuma Region....

to Songea
Songea
Songea is the capital of the Ruvuma Region in southeastern Tanzania. It is located along the A19 road. The city has a population of approximately 130,000, and is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Songea. Between 1905 and 1907 the city was a centre of African resistance during the Maji...

which would connect to a paved spur of the Mbeya-Dar es Salaam highway.
Central regions: only dirt roads with some difficult sections to the west of Dodoma
Dodoma
Dodoma , officially Dodoma Urban District, population 324,347 , is the national capital of Tanzania, and the capital of the Dodoma region. In 1973, plans were made to move the capital to Dodoma...

leading to Manyoni
Manyoni
Manyoni is one of the 4 districts in the Singida Region of Tanzania. The district capital is Manyoni. The district is bordered to the North by the Singida Rural and Singida Urban Districts, to the East by the Dodoma Region, to the South by the Iringa Region, to the Southwest by the Mbeya Region...

, Singida, Nzega
Nzega
Nzega is one of the six districts of the Tabora Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the north and west by the Shinyanga Region, to the south and southwest by the Uyui District and to the east by the Igunga District....

, and Tabora
Tabora
Tabora is the capital city of Tanzania's Tabora Region with a population of 127,880 . Tabora region is one of the largest geographical regions of Tanzania.- History :...

. The Singida-Nzega dirt road is the only practical route between the eastern and western halves of the country, without going to the southern or northern borders.
Northern: paved roads connect Mwanza
Mwanza
Mwanza is a mid-sized port city on the southern shores of Lake Victoria in northwestern Tanzania. With an urban population of 1.2 million and a metropolitan population of 2 million, it is Tanzania's second largest city, following Dar es Salaam and ahead of other major Tanzanian cities of Arusha,...

and Musoma
Musoma
Musoma is a city located in northern Tanzania. It is the capital of Mara Region. It has a population of 103,497 . Musoma sits on the eastern edge of Lake Victoria not far from the Kenyan border. There are boats that take you across Lake Victoria from Musoma.- Geography :The town is sited in a...

on Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....

, but are only connected by dirt roads to the central, north-eastern and north-western regions, some are being upgraded to gravel roads.
North-western regions have recently seen improvements with a new paved highway from Nzega
Nzega
Nzega is one of the six districts of the Tabora Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the north and west by the Shinyanga Region, to the south and southwest by the Uyui District and to the east by the Igunga District....

to the Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

n border. However, the lake port of Bukoba
Bukoba
Bukoba is a town in northwest Tanzania on the western shore of Lake Victoria. It is the capital of the Kagera region. Population estimate: 100,000...

is reachable only along improved gravel roads.
Western regions are the most poorly served, with no paved highways except locally in Kigoma
Kigoma
Kigoma is a town and lake port in western Tanzania, on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika and close to the border with Burundi. It serves as the capital for the surrounding Kigoma Region and has a population of 135,234 and an elevation of 775 m.The historic trading town of Ujiji is 6 km...

and Ujiji
Ujiji
Ujiji is the oldest town in western Tanzania, located about 6 miles south of Kigoma. In 1900, the population was estimated at 10,000 and in 1967 about 4,100. Part of the Kigoma/Ujiji urban area, the regional population was about 50,000 in 1978....

. Only one dirt road runs down the western side of the country, it is just a track between Kasulu
Kasulu
Kasulu is one of the 4 districts of the Kigoma Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the North by Burundi, to the East by the Kibondo District and to the South by the Kigoma Rural and Kigoma Urban Districts....

and Sumbawanga
Sumbawanga
Sumbawanga is a city located in western Tanzania. It is the capital of Rukwa Region. The regional population is approximately 150,000 based on a 2002 census.Many people living in Sumbawanga are Fipa, called so for the native language also spoken there...

and prone to flooding south of Mpanda
Mpanda
Mpanda is one of the 4 districts of the Rukwa Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the Northwest by the Kigoma Region, to the Northeast by the Tabora Region, to the East by the Mbeya Region, to the Southeast by the Sumbawanga Urban District, to the Southwest by the Nkansi District and to the West...

. Between Tunduma
Tunduma
Tunduma is a Tanzanian border town in Mbeya Region with border posts for both the Tanzam Highway and the TAZARA railway linking the two countries. It is...

in the south-west and Nyakanyazi junction near Kibondo
Kibondo
Kibondo is one of the 4 districts of the Kigoma Region of Tanzania. It is bordered to the North by the Kagera Region, to the East by the Shinyanga and Tabora Regions, to the South by the Kigoma Urban District, to the West by the Kasulu District and to the Northwest by Burundi.According to the 2002...

in the north-west, a distance of nearly 1000 km, there are no highways in the centre of the country.

International Highways

The Cairo-Cape Town Highway

Cairo-Cape Town Highway

The Cairo-Cape Town Highway is Trans-African Highway 4 in the transcontinental road network being developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa , the African Development Bank , and the African Union...

(highway 4 in the Trans-African Highway network

Trans-African Highway network

The Trans-African Highway network comprises transcontinental road projects in Africa being developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa , the African Development Bank , and the African Union in conjunction with regional international communities...

) runs through Tanzania from Namanga

Namanga

Namanga is a town in Kenya, lying on the border with Tanzania. It is in Kajiado District, Rift Valley Province. It is around 130 kilometers from Arusha, Tanzania. Namanga's economy is heavily dependent on tourism as tourists visiting the nearby Amboseli National Park passes though the town from...

on the Kenyan border in the north and the Tanzanian/Mozambican

Mozambican

Mozambican may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to Mozambique, a country in southeastern Africa** A person from Mozambique, or of Mozambican descent. For information about the Mozambican people, see Demographics of Mozambique and Culture of Mozambique. For specific persons, see List of...

border town of Tunduma

Tunduma

Tunduma is a Tanzanian border town in Mbeya Region with border posts for both the Tanzam Highway and the TAZARA railway linking the two countries. It is...

in the south-west, via Arusha

Arusha

Arusha is a city in northern Tanzania. It is the capital of the Arusha Region, which claims a population of 1,288,088, including 281,608 for the Arusha District . Arusha is surrounded by some of Africa's most famous landscapes and national parks...

, Dodoma

Dodoma

Dodoma , officially Dodoma Urban District, population 324,347 , is the national capital of Tanzania, and the capital of the Dodoma region. In 1973, plans were made to move the capital to Dodoma...

, Iringa

Iringa

Iringa is a city in Tanzania with a population of 112,900 . It is situated at a latitude of 7.77°S and longitude of 35.69°E. The name is derived from the Hehe word lilinga, meaning fort....

and Mbeya

Mbeya

Mbeya is a city located in southwest Tanzania, Africa. Mbeya's urban population was 280,000 in 2005. Mbeya is the capital of the surrounding rural Mbeya region ....

, passing through some of the best scenery in Africa. The section between Tarangire National Park

Tarangire National Park

Tarangire National Park is a national park in Tanzania.Tarangire National Park is the sixth largest national park in Tanzania after Ruaha, Serengeti, Mikumi, Katavi and Mkomazi. The name of the park originates from the Tarangire river that crosses through the park, being the only source of water...

and Iringa

Iringa

Iringa is a city in Tanzania with a population of 112,900 . It is situated at a latitude of 7.77°S and longitude of 35.69°E. The name is derived from the Hehe word lilinga, meaning fort....

is not paved and can be very difficult after rain especially north of Kondoa Irangi. A longer eastern route via Moshi

Moshi

Moshi is a Tanzanian town with a population of 144,739 in Kilimanjaro Region. The town is situated on the lower slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro, a volcanic mountain that is the highest mountain in Africa....

and Morogoro

Morogoro

Morogoro is a city with an urban population of 206,868 in the southern highlands of Tanzania, 190 km west of Dar es Salaam. It is the capital of the Morogoro Region...

is paved. But these have often been poorly maintained in the past so are full of potholes. In south-west Tanzania

Tanzania

the Trans-African Highway follows the Tanzam Highway linking Zambia

Zambia

to the port of Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam

Timeline

May 2007 - Construction is set to begin on the Malagarasi
Malagarasi River
The Malagarasi River is Tanzania's second longest river. It empties into the eastern side of Lake Tanganyika about 25 miles south of Kigoma, and is one of the lake's primary inflows. The Malagarasi pre-dates Lake Tanganyika and was formerly a tributary of the Congo River to its west...

Bridge, its set to cost USD25 million

Waterways

Tanzania has an abundance of coastal and lake waterways around its borders. In the central areas of the country there are no lakes or rivers that are usable for transportation.

Indian Ocean coast

Tanzania has a strong maritime tradition going back centuries. Zanzibar

Zanzibar

Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...

was once the chief port on the East African

East African

East African may refer to:*Any person or object of, or pertaining to, East Africa*East African Airlines, an airline based in Kampala, Uganda*East African Safari Air, a now defunct airline based in Kenya*The EastAfrican, a weekly newspaper in East Africa...

, Indian Ocean coast. Its hinterland

Hinterland

The hinterland is the land or district behind a coast or the shoreline of a river. Specifically, by the doctrine of the hinterland, the word is applied to the inland region lying behind a port, claimed by the state that owns the coast. The area from which products are delivered to a port for...

reached into Central Africa

Central Africa

Central Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....

as far as the middle Congo River

Congo River

The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...

. Swahili

Swahili people

The Swahili people are a Bantu ethnic group and culture found in East Africa, mainly in the coastal regions and the islands of Kenya, Tanzania and north Mozambique. According to JoshuaProject, the Swahili number in at around 1,328,000. The name Swahili is derived from the Arabic word Sawahil,...

traders used dhow

Dhow

Dhow is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with lateen sails used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Some historians believe the dhow was invented by Arabs but this is disputed by some others. Dhows typically weigh 300 to 500 tons, and have a...

s to conduct trade though many ports along the coast. This tradition continues today with motorised craft. The government of Tanzania has announced plans to develop a new port at Mbegani, near Bagamoyo

Bagamoyo

The town of Bagamoyo, Tanzania, was founded at the end of the 18th century. It was the original capital of German East Africa and was one of the most important trading ports along the East African coast...

; it would offer a deepwater harbour with a two-berth container terminal.

Indian Ocean ports:

Wete
Wete
Wete is a city located on the Tanzanian island of Pemba and it is the capital of Pemba North region. It lies on the northwest coast. Immediately to the south of it is the small island of Matambwe, site of the ruins of a medieval town....
Tanga
Tanga, Tanzania
Tanga is both the name of the most northerly seaport city of Tanzania, and the surrounding Tanga Region. It is the Regional Headquarters of the region.With a population of 243,580 in 2002, Tanga is one of the largest cities in the country...
Pangani
Pangani
Pangani is one of the eight districts of Tanga Region in Tanzania. It is bordered to the North by the Muheza District, to the East by the Indian Ocean, to the South by the Pwani Region and to the West by the Handeni District.The center is Pangani....
Bagamoyo
Bagamoyo
The town of Bagamoyo, Tanzania, was founded at the end of the 18th century. It was the original capital of German East Africa and was one of the most important trading ports along the East African coast...
Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam
Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city in Tanzania. It is also the country's richest city and a regionally important economic centre. Dar es Salaam is actually an administrative province within Tanzania, and consists of three local government areas or administrative districts: ...
Kilindoni
Kilindoni
Kilindoni is a town in the Pwani Region, Tanzania. It is the main town of the Mafia Island....
Kilwa Masoko
Kilwa Masoko
Kilwa Masoko is a port town in eastern Tanzania. It is located at around .Kilwa Masoko is the site of very impressive ruins from the Ottoman Arab dynasties....

/Kilwa Kisiwani
Kilwa Kisiwani
Kilwa Kisiwani is a community on an island off the coast of East Africa, in present day Tanzania.- History :A document written around AD 1200 called al-Maqama al Kilwiyya discovered in Oman, gives details of a mission to reconvert Kilwa to Ibadism, as it had recently been effected by the Ghurabiyya...
Lindi
Lindi
Lindi is a coastal town located at the far end of the Lindi Bay, on the Indian Ocean in southeastern Tanzania. The town is 450 kilometers south of Dar es Salaam and 105 kilometers north of Mtwara, the southernmost coastal town in Tanzania, and gives its name to the surrounding Lindi Region, one...
Mtwara

Lake Victoria

For about 80 years the famous Lake Victoria ferries

Lake Victoria ferries

Lake Victoria ferries are motor ships carrying freight and passengers between Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya on Lake Victoria...

have carried rail wagons and vehicles from Uganda

Uganda

to Tanzania

Tanzania

. The ferries

Train ferry

are jointly run by the railway companies of Tanzania

Tanzania

and Uganda

Uganda

and form the chief means of transport between Tanzania and Uganda. As well as between northern Tanzania and south-western Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

. Other ferry services link to the Tanzanian islands and smaller Tanzanian ports.

Lake Victoria ports in Tanzania:

Mwanza
Mwanza
Mwanza is a mid-sized port city on the southern shores of Lake Victoria in northwestern Tanzania. With an urban population of 1.2 million and a metropolitan population of 2 million, it is Tanzania's second largest city, following Dar es Salaam and ahead of other major Tanzanian cities of Arusha,...

- railhead
Railhead
The word railhead is a railway term with two distinct meanings, depending upon its context.Sometimes, particularly in the context of modern freight terminals, the word is used to denote a terminus of a railway line, especially if the line is not yet finished, or if the terminus interfaces with...
Bukoba
Bukoba
Bukoba is a town in northwest Tanzania on the western shore of Lake Victoria. It is the capital of the Kagera region. Population estimate: 100,000...
Musoma
Musoma
Musoma is a city located in northern Tanzania. It is the capital of Mara Region. It has a population of 103,497 . Musoma sits on the eastern edge of Lake Victoria not far from the Kenyan border. There are boats that take you across Lake Victoria from Musoma.- Geography :The town is sited in a...

Lake Tanganyika

Once a rival to Lake Victoria as a waterway, the Lake Tanganyika

Lake Tanganyika

Lake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake. It is estimated to be the second largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, and the second deepest, after Lake Baikal in Siberia; it is also the world's longest freshwater lake...

ferries are no longer as busy and train ferries no longer operate. Trade has suffered due to wars in the DR Congo. Small ferries link communities along the Tanzanian shore (some with no road access), and commercial traffic runs between Kigoma

Kigoma

and Bujumbura

Bujumbura

-Education:The University of Burundi is located in Bujumbura.Hope Africa University is located in BujumburaUniversité du Lac Tanganyika is located in Bujumbura-External links:**...

, Burundi

Burundi

and Mpulungu

Mpulungu

Mpulungu is a town in the Northern Province of Zambia, at the southern tip of Lake Tanganyika.From Mpulungu, boats reach DR Congo, Tanzania and Burundi...

, Zambia

Zambia

, including the MV Liemba

MV Liemba

The MV Liemba, formerly the Graf von Götzen, is a passenger and cargo ferry that runs along the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika...

.

Lake Tanganyika ports in Tanzania:

Kigoma
Kigoma
Kigoma is a town and lake port in western Tanzania, on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika and close to the border with Burundi. It serves as the capital for the surrounding Kigoma Region and has a population of 135,234 and an elevation of 775 m.The historic trading town of Ujiji is 6 km...

- railhead
Railhead
The word railhead is a railway term with two distinct meanings, depending upon its context.Sometimes, particularly in the context of modern freight terminals, the word is used to denote a terminus of a railway line, especially if the line is not yet finished, or if the terminus interfaces with...
Ujiji
Ujiji
Ujiji is the oldest town in western Tanzania, located about 6 miles south of Kigoma. In 1900, the population was estimated at 10,000 and in 1967 about 4,100. Part of the Kigoma/Ujiji urban area, the regional population was about 50,000 in 1978....

Lake Malawi

Tanzanian communities along the north-east shore (some without road access) are linked by ferry, and Malawian steamer and boat services have run the length of the lake for about 120 years.

Tanzanian towns with ferry wharves on Lake Malawi:

Itungi (paved highway link from Mbeya)
Matema
Manda
Lituhi
Mbamba Bay
Mbamba Bay
Mbamba Bay is a town in western Tanzania, lying on the eastern shore of Lake Malawi. Elevation 471m.- Port :Mbamba Bay has an indentation in the otherwise straight profile of the lake and may be a potential port.- Transport :...

Merchant marine

As of 2008, Tanzania's merchant fleet consisted of 9 Tanzanian-flagged vessels and 1 registered in Honduras. The small number of ships may be attributed to Tanzania's few exports, the relative insufficiency of its coast guard and naval forces, and Tanzania's single major port facility in Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam

. The nine domestically-flagged ships are one solely cargo ship, 4 passenger/cargo ships, and 4 oil tankers.

Pipelines

As of 2008, Tanzania could claim 253 km (157.2 mi) of gas

Natural gas

Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...

pipeline

Pipeline transport

Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....

, 888 km (551.8 mi) of oil pipeline, and an 8 km (5 mi) pipeline for refined petroleum product

Petroleum product

Petroleum products are useful materials derived from crude oil as it is processed in oil refineries.According to crude oil composition and demand, refineries can produce different shares of petroleum products. The largest share of oil products is used as energy carriers: various grades of fuel...

s. The privately owned Tazama Pipeline

Tazama Pipeline

The Tazama Pipeline ' is a long crude oil pipeline from the Single Point Mooring terminal at the outer anchorage of in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, to the TIPER refinery in Dar-es-Salaam and the Indeni refinery in Ndola, Zambia. It was commissioned in 1968. The pipeline was designed for a throughput...

accounts for a large portion of the country's crude oil transportation capability. It currently handles 600,000 tons of crude oil per year, but was designed to handle 1.1 million tons.

Airports

Tanzania had a total of 125 airport

Airport

An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

s as of 2009, ranking it 47th in the world by number of airports.

Paved

total:9

over 3048 m (10,000 ft): 2

2438 to 3047 m (7,998.7 to 9,996.7 ft): 2

1524 to 2437 m (5,000 to 7,995.4 ft): 4

914 to 1523 m (2,998.7 to 4,996.7 ft): 1

Unpaved

total: 116

1524 to 2437 m (5,000 to 7,995.4 ft): 19

914 to 1523 m (2,998.7 to 4,996.7 ft): 63

under 914 m (2,998.7 ft): 34

External links

Government ministries and agencies

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Railways

Standards

Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC)

Maps

2008

2007

TAZARA Railway

Couplings and brakes

Roads

National highways

International Highways

Timeline

Waterways

Indian Ocean coast

Lake Victoria

Lake Tanganyika

Lake Malawi

Merchant marine

Pipelines

Airports

Paved

Unpaved

See also

External links