TANZANIA: TAZARA PASSENGER TRAINS WILL NO LONGER CROSS BORDER

TAZARA passenger trains will no longer cross border to Zambia or Tanzania. They will intersect and make u-turn at Nakonde border post effective next week, the authorities have said.

Tazara spokesperson, Conrad Simuchile said in a statement issued on Wednesday that passengers crossing the border to Tanzania or Zambia will now be swapping trains at Nakonde border post.

"Trains will no longer run across the national boundaries but will now intersect and u-turn at Nakonde," reads in part the statement issued to announce reorganisation and new timetable for passenger trains for the railway company jointly managed by Tanzania and Zambia.

The passenger trains would operate as local trains within the respective borders of Tanzania and Zambia, intersecting and both u-turning at the Tanzania/Zambia border station of Nakonde, he said.

Passengers who intend to cross the border and travel by train all the way through to the other country would be required to swap trains at Nakonde in order to proceed to Dar es Salaam or New Kapiri-Mposhi, respectively.

Mr Simuchile said new timetables for the Tanzanian and Zambian operated trains have been designed in such a way as to allow for the interfacing of the trains at Nakonde station, so that passengers crossing into the other country have sufficient time to swap the trains and proceed with their journey with minimum inconvenience.

The departure days from Dar es Salaam and New Kapiri-Mposhi remain Tuesday and Friday, whilst the departure days from Nakonde to Dar es Salaam and from Nakonde to New Kapiri- Mposhi will be Wednesdays and Saturdays, in both cases, he said.

The departure days from Dar es Salaam and New Kapiri-Mposhi remain Tuesday and Friday, whilst the departure days from Nakonde to Dar es Salaam and from Nakonde to New Kapiri- Mposhi will be Wednesdays and Saturdays, in both cases.

According to the new timetable, the Kilimanjaro Express Train will depart from Dar es Salaam on Tuesdays at 10:10hrs in the morning and arrive in Nakonde on Wednesdays at 12:45hrs. It will then make a u-turn and leave Nakonde the same Wednesday at 13:15 and arrive in Dar es Salaam on Thursday afternoon at 15:23hrs.

On the other hand, the Kilimanjaro Ordinary Train will leave Dar es Salaam on Fridays at 10:30hrs in the morning and arrive in Nakonde at 16:16hrs on Saturday afternoon, u-turn and depart for Dar es Salaam at 16:46hrs the same Saturday, arriving in Dar es Salaam on Sunday at 22:49hrs, he said. For Zambia, the trains will depart from New Kapiri- Mposhi on Tuesdays and Fridays.

The Mukuba Express Train will be departing New Kapiri-Mposhi at 16:00hrs on Tuesday, arriving in Nakonde at 08:41hrs on Wednesday morning, then u-turn and depart for New Kapiri- Mposhi at 18:00hrs the same Wednesday, arriving in New Kapiri-Mposhi at 10:39hrs on Thursday morning.

On the other hand, the Mukuba Ordinary Train will leave New Kapiri-Mposhi on Friday and arrive in Nakonde on Saturday morning at 09:48hrs, u-turn the same day at 18:13hrs and arrive in New Kapiri-Mposhi at 13:37hrs on Sunday.