OVER 30,000 residents of Dodoma Region are today expected to attend the official launch standard gauge railway (SGR) speed train from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma, to be officiated by President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

Briefing journalists in Dodoma yesterday ahead of the inauguration, Dodoma Regional Commissioner, Rosemary Senyamule said the region is ready for the event, noting that the railway service is likely to spur economic growth in the city.

She said: “All is set for this great revolution that is destined to open up our region economically, broadening trade links with other neighboring regions.”

She noted that there are already gains made by city residents as the passenger train launched on 25th July 2025 picks and drops between 900 and 1000 passengers every day. She called on residents to tap opportunities that come along with the new development.

According to RC Senyamule, the train has also been a kind of tourism attraction as different people have been gathering at the station to take pictures near the train.

She noted that the investment provides a rare tourism opportunity for Dodoma’s renowned grapes and that the business community should rise to the occasion and advertise strategic areas and things found in the region.

President Samia is to officiate the historic launch after successful initial runs between the two cities five days ago.

The speed train services involve modernized electrically powered engines and signalling systems, where the government has emphasized the project's significance in fostering economic growth and elevating cargo and passenger haul efficiency locally and in the region.

Electrified train services will stimulate economic activities in sectors like trade and tourism, while production sectors like manufacturing, as well as the transit cargo landscape, will be substantially altered.

When cargo services commence, a standard load goods train will have a 10,000 tonnes capacity, by implication replacing upwards of 500 trucks, he said, noting that the train service is environment friendly and will help the country to save forex reserves to import fuel.

The grid supply of electricity cuts fuel costs to a third compared with operating diesel engines on the same distance, he stated, urging the public to use the new means of transport to speed up business growth in their respective areas.

Speaking at a press conference in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday, Masanja Kadogosa, the Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) director general, said that for the past two weeks, speed trains carried over 100,000 passengers, with one standard passenger train hauling 1,400 passengers across the distance.

TRC operates electric multiple units that are undergoing a driving test, set to operate as quick service special passenger hauls, in like manner as large rapid transit buses in urban areas, officials say.

The SGR’s entire route will run from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza on the shore of Lake Victoria, as well as Kigoma at the northern reach of Lake Tanganyika, while from Kigoma it stretches to Burundi and from Isaka-Shinyanga Region in will branch off towards DRC and Rwanda.

Construction is nearing completion in the sections up to Makutupora, the next major transit point after Morogoro and Dodoma, while the distance to the capital is put at 460 kilometers (285 miles).