DODOMA, Tanzania: Tanzania’s state-owned railway operator has achieved a milestone by funding its operations entirely from internal revenues, transport officials said, ending more than a decade of government subsidies.
Since December 2025, the Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC) has covered wages and daily operations without government support, Transport Minister Makame Mbarawa told reporters. Previous subsidies averaged around 13 billion Tanzanian shillings ($5 million) annually.
The financial turnaround comes as the government expands the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) network to improve regional logistics and support trade, mining, and agriculture. In the first 100 days of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration, TRC carried 836,870 passengers and transported 85,735 tonnes of cargo, with nearly 90% of passenger traffic on the Dar es Salaam–Dodoma electrified route.
How Tanzania is turning infrastructure into competitive advantage in East African region
Construction continues on the 1,200-kilometre SGR corridor linking Dar es Salaam to Mwanza, with plans to expand to Kigoma and cross-border markets, including the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi. Upgrades to ports, such as 10 new berths and expanded storage at Dar es Salaam, are expected to boost capacity from 32 million to 50 million tonnes annually.
Officials said the sector’s shift toward commercial sustainability is designed to attract private investment and improve the bankability of transport infrastructure projects.
