Andre Klynsmith

Railway

130 Turnouts and 840 000 Sleepers: Tanzania's Standard Gauge Line Moves Inland

Vossloh has been contracted to supply turnouts and rail fastenings worth EUR30 million for two further sections of Tanzania's 1 200 km electrified standard gauge railway, the line being built to connect the Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam with Mwanza on Lake Victoria. The order covers Phase 3 and Phase 4 of the corridor, both under construction by Turkish contractor Yapi Merkezi for Tanzania Railways Corporation.

RAILWAY

8 September 2026 • 4 min read

Track components are the least glamorous line item in any railway budget and among the most revealing. A EUR30 million turnout and fastening order signals that Tanzania's central corridor has moved past groundworks and into the phase where the line starts becoming operable.

The two sections in question

The contracts cover the 294 km Makutupora to Tabora section, designated Phase 3 of the corridor, and the 130 km Tabora to Isaka section, Phase 4. Together they push the standard gauge line more than 400 km further inland from the point where earlier phases ended, moving it toward the Lake Victoria terminus at Mwanza.

Vossloh will manufacture approximately 130 turnouts at its plant in Ystad, Sweden, while rail fastening systems for 840 000 sleepers will come from its Werdohl facility in Germany. Group chief executive Oliver Schuster described the project as a driver of development for East Africa when the contracts were announced.

Why a SADC operator should care about a Tanzanian line

Tanzania is a SADC member state, and Dar es Salaam is already one of the principal maritime gateways for Zambia, the DRC Copperbelt, Malawi, Burundi and Rwanda. Cargo that cannot get a competitive rate or a reliable slot through Durban, Beira or Walvis Bay has historically drifted toward Dar. A higher-capacity standard gauge spine running inland from that port changes the arithmetic of that choice.

It also sits alongside, rather than replacing, TAZARA. The standard gauge line runs west and north toward Lake Victoria; TAZARA runs south-west into Zambia. Operators shipping Copperbelt volume will still depend on the older route or on road, but a busier, better-served Dar es Salaam port generally means better vessel calls and more competitive line-haul options for everyone using it.

The gauge question nobody has answered

Southern Africa's existing network is overwhelmingly Cape gauge. East Africa's new build is standard gauge. Every kilometre of standard gauge laid north of the Zambezi widens a break-of-gauge that will eventually have to be handled by transhipment terminals, variable-gauge equipment or a road leg -- all of which add cost and handling time to any through movement.

For now that is a planning concern rather than an operational one, because the sections under construction are still years from carrying commercial traffic. But freight forwarders quoting multi-year contracts on northern routings should be building the interchange point into their models rather than assuming a seamless rail corridor.

About the Author
	Andre Klynsmith Entrepreneur & Technology Enthusiast Andre's expertise spans technology, blockchain, transport, and logistics -- with a passion for innovation and driving positive change across industries. info@laaimylorrie.com | laaimylorrie.com