Written by EDITOR

Of recent, East Africans have been told of the determined resolve by the East African Community to build a new railway line that would inter-connect Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.

 
The EAC Secretariat and individual countries have spoken out loudly and positively about it, thus raising the desire of its citizenry that an important people’s infrastructure would be build sooner than later to ease transportation, boost trade and commerce and enhance the people’s welfare.

 
One evident thing is that there is political good will across the region. What remains is to hasten the modalities of finding the necessary funds to construct it as soon as possible for the 126 million East Africans to benefit from the infrastructure.

 
Last week, it was the Tanzania Minister for Infrastructure, Dr Shukuru Kawambwa who told the National Assembly seating in Dodoma about the resolve to build a new, wide gauge railway line from Dar es Salaam to Kigali and Bujumbura.

 
He said preliminary feasibility studies had been conducted, and what was being awaited was to go the next step of looking for funds by engaging the private and public  partnership (PPP) to undertake the multi-billion dollars project.

The minister told the National Assembly that the new inter-regional railway would involve building a new wide gauge rail (1435mm) to run parallel to the century old small gauge (1000mm) Tanzania Railways from Dar es Salaam to Isaka in Shinyanga, and then link it to the new international standard width track from Isaka to Kigali and onward to Keza-Gitega in Burundi.

 
To whet the appetite of MPs, Minister Kawambwa said the new railway rolling stocks would be larger, carry heavier loads and passengers and go faster.

 
Unlike the ancient small gauge TRL line that moves at 35km per hour, the planned trains will travel at 120km per hour. It will also be serviced by double deck passenger couches.

 
The new rail project, if well implemented, is a win-win preposition for all because it will carry more domestic and inter-regional cargo, save on transportation time and thereby reduce costs of doing business, and boost Dar es Salaam port as the major gateway for the exports and imports. With a successful rail link to Kigali and Bujumbura, the planned line to Masaka and Kampala (Uganda), the Central African Republic, Gabon, Congo Brazzaville, Cameroon and Nigeria abound indeed.

 
What is now needed is for the EAC Secretariat and the EAC member states to move with speed to mobilize funds to construct the infrastructure when the mood is right.