According to TRL, the move is part of their commitment to improve city transport and a solution to the traffic jams that bedevil Dar es Salaam.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam yesterday, TRL Public Relations manager Midlaid Maez said that passengers will be charged 600/- as fare for adults and 200/- for pupils.
He said the service would be cheap and relatively reliable compared to other means of transport, including commuter buses famously known as ‘daladala’. He said most of the residents from Pugu were spending a lot of money boarding up to three commuter buses to reach the city centre.
Maez revealed that the fare was approved by the Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority (SUMATRA).
“We started trials on Tuesday with only 10 wagons...each cabin has a capacity to carry 80 people on seats and 20 more people who will be standing,” Maez said.
He added the trains would stop at 10 identified centres including Pugu Station, Mwisho wa Lami, Gongo la Mboto, FFU Mombasa, Banana (Njia Panda Segerea), Karakana, Vingunguti Mbuzi, Bakhresa, Kamata and Stesheni at the city centre.
Maez said demand for the service was very high due to challenge of transporting people residing at the areas. He added that almost everywhere in the city people were asking for train services.
In another development, TRL launched a new train, christened “Pamba,” that will be carrying cotton cargo from Mwanza to Shinyanga Region.
He said the train was expected to help cotton farmers and traders transport their produce using reliable transport means.
The first commuter train service in Dar es Salaam was launched in 2012 by then Transport Minister, Dr Harrison Mwakyembe, to ease congestion on roads.
It was the first phase of a government scheme to improve the transport network in Dar es Salaam.One train covers a 25km journey between Dar es Salaam's Mwakanga and Tazara railway stations and the second one runs for 20km between Ubungo-Maziwa and the city railway stations.
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