The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority TAZARA has reinstated cross-border passenger train services between Tanzania and Zambia, confirming its determination to re-establish safe, reliable, and affordable rail transportation as part of a wider agenda of transformation and revitalisation.
Passenger services will resume on February 10, 2026, after being suspended in June 2024 due to technical and operational challenges. This development marks a significant milestone in restoring confidence in passenger rail transport along the renowned route that once linked Dar es Salaam in Tanzania to New Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia.
TAZARA Managing Director Bruno Ching’andu said that the move was in line with the founding mandate of the Authority, which was to interlink people, markets, and economies within the region. He observed that the reinstatement of the service is timely in the sense that TAZARA is celebrating 50 years of service.
TAZARA was formed to bridge individuals, markets, and economies. The new cross-border passenger service enhances the regional trade, tourism, and people-to-people movement, and rejuvenates our original mandate, Ching andu said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
He described that the services will be restarted after a planned restructuring of operations that should enhance the sustainability, inclusiveness, and reliability of services. This reorganization has seen the rationalisation of the passenger services between Dar es Salaam and New Kapiri Mposhi, with the number of trips per week cut by half.
Chingandu reveals that the adjustment would enable TAZARA to align its meager rolling stock, which comprises coaches and locomotives, in order to enhance the major passenger services. The target will be the Mukuba and Udzungwa trains, which fulfill various transport requirements along the route.
The Mukuba service will still be in operation as the primary cross-border passenger train that serves the local and international passengers between Dar es Salaam and New Kapiri Mposhi. In the meantime, the Udzungwa will serve local customers in the form of operating between Makambako and Kilombero in Tanzania.
Chingandu attributed the changes to the difficulties of having an ageing fleet that is in the process of rehabilitation. He stressed that the priority of TAZAR is to put the existing resources in those areas where they will provide the most significant benefits to people without jeopardizing high levels of safety, low cost, and reliability in the functioning.
The change in service frequency is an indication of the reality of having an ageing fleet that is undergoing a stage-by-stage rehabilitation. We are keen on maximising the use of meager rolling stock and a safe and reliable service, he said.
In its more extensive overhaul strategy, TAZARA will also buy new passenger coaches and locomotives to enhance the quality of services. The authority is convinced that such investments will enable it to make more train trips between Tanzania and Zambia in future.
Ching’andu said that with the new coaches acquired, the number of journeys between Tanzania and Zambia will be increased in order to get an ideal customer experience.
The reopened cross-border passenger service will largely contribute to facilitating the regional trade, tourism, and movement of people and enhancing the long-term mission of TAZARA, which will trigger economic integration between Zambia and Tanzania.
