TAZARA: Construction, Handover and Early Operations, 1970–1976

TAZARA links Tanzania's Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam with New Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia, over approximately 1,860 kilometres. Landlocked, copper-producing Zambia remained dependent after independence on routes through Rhodesia and southern African ports. Southern Rhodesia's white-minority government's unilateral declaration of independence in 1965 heightened the political risks. Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere and Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda promoted a northeastern railway to the sea, also seeking to develop southwestern Tanzania and northeastern Zambia.

China, Tanzania and Zambia signed an assistance agreement in September 1967. China provided a long-term interest-free loan and technical assistance. The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority, jointly owned by the two African countries, took responsibility for managing and operating the cross-border line.

References: [3] [4] [1]

Intensive surveying and design took place in 1968–1970, and construction began in October 1970. Alongside the trackbed, bridges, tunnels and stations, workers first needed access roads, camps and supply facilities. After the roughly 502-kilometre stretch from Dar es Salaam to Mlimba, the line entered more difficult upland terrain.

Between Mlimba and Makambako, the route climbed out of the Kilombero valley. Long steep gradients, weak ground and heavy rain complicated construction and maintenance. A 1976 Hsinhua field report describes filling swamp foundations with sand, stone and branches and tunnelling through fractured rock and water-bearing alluvium. Bulldozers and tracklaying machinery supported considerable clearing, quarrying and drainage work. Construction was completed in 1975, followed by trial operations.

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TAZARA used a 1,067-mm gauge compatible with Zambia's and neighbouring southern African railways. Freight wagons could enter the existing Zambian network at New Kapiri Mposhi. Early World Bank technical data give a design axle load of 20 tonnes, predominantly concrete sleepers and rails weighing 45 kilograms per metre. Major stations had colour-light signals, while smaller stations retained semaphore signals.

The equipment had to meet upland traction conditions. The ruling gradient between Mlimba and Chozi reached 2%, and design speeds were lower than on flatter stretches. Initial freight capacity was estimated at about two million tonnes annually. More passing loops, improved signalling and additional locomotives and rolling stock could expand capacity. Coordination between trains, stations and the port also affected actual throughput.

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Chinese railway personnel worked alongside Tanzanian and Zambian workers. Twelve base camps organized regional construction, with work gangs and smaller teams coordinated by Chinese technicians and African foremen. Training covered track construction, maintenance, operations and management so the railway could continue functioning after handover.

Workers mainly learned on the job, with more experienced trainees entering specialist classes. Instructors used practical demonstrations, equipment disassembly and deliberately introduced faults to teach diagnosis and repair. Training institutions opened at Mang'ula, Mgulani, Mbeya and Mpika between 1971 and 1974; another 200 African trainees studied railway engineering in Beijing in 1972–1975. Construction produced personnel who later worked as drivers, signalling staff, mechanics and station managers.

References: [2] [6]

Completion was followed by trial operations in 1975–1976. TAZARA's fortieth-anniversary bulletin records the Chinese handover on 1 July 1976 and the start of commercial operations on 14 July. Tracklaying, trial running, handover and business operations formed successive stages in the transition from construction project to transport service.

Tanzania and Zambia assumed operating responsibility, while Chinese technical cooperation continued. Some construction experts stayed to support maintenance, train operations and training. Cooperation shifted from construction organization to operating assistance as local staff increasingly filled everyday posts.

References: [1] [2] [6]

1977 was the first full calendar year of operations. World Bank compilations estimate freight at about 1.1 million tonnes, including 937,000 tonnes of Zambian imports and exports plus local traffic largely within Tanzania. Passenger journeys rose from 619,000 in 1976 to 1,312,000 in 1979, mostly domestic travel within each country. The railway served both copper trade and residents along the line.

Traffic did not remain close to initial capacity. Falling locomotive availability, track washouts in 1979 and damage to bridges in Zambia interrupted services, and some freight returned to other routes. TAZARA expanded Zambia's options for reaching the sea, but performance continued to depend on locomotive and infrastructure maintenance, rolling-stock circulation and cross-border coordination.

References: [3]