Usambara Railway

Usambara Railway
Location
Continent Africa
Colony: German East Africa
Line
Line length:350.5 km (217.8 mi)
+ 86.1 km (53.5 mi)
Track gauge:1 Meter
Maximum incline: 2.5  %
Minimum radius:150 m
Legend
 Hafen
 0.0 Tanga
 1.7 Golfu Halt
 6.8 Kange Siding
 10.6 Maweni Siding
 14.1 Pongwe
 15.3 Pongwe Halt
 24.8 Ngomeni
 28.7 Mkanyageni Halt
 Reder’s Halt
 35.9 Lusange
 39.7 Muheza
44.3 Tengeniex: Sigi-Bahn (750 mm)
50.0 Mambo Leo Halt
 55.2 Kihuhwi
 58.3 Zannetiberg Halt
 nach Ruvu und Dar es Salaam
 65.0 Murasi Junction
 69.1 Mnyusi
 74.8 Magunga Siding
 81.3 Luengera Halt
 84.0 Korogwe
 Pangani
 87.3 Manundu Halt
 91.1 Ngombezi
 96.9 Maurui
 113.3 Makuyuni
 127.6 Mombo Quarry Sidingex Bus n. Lushoto
 140.8 Mazinde
 147.4 Mkumbaraex Seilbahn v. Adolf Bleichert & Co.
 166.9 Mkomazi
 178.6 Mikocheni Halt
 189.7 Mabirioni
 198.1 Hedaru
 217.5 Mkanya
 252.1 Same
 243.4 Moshi Trading Company Siding
 283 Höchster Punkt der Strecke1003m
 290.4 Lembeni
 296.8 Kisangara Halt
 306.2 Mbuyuni Halt
 310.4 Kisangiro
 321.9 Tingatinga Halt
 330.9 Kahe Junction
 nach Voi. Kenya
 von Voi. Kenya
341.1 Rau River Halt
0.0
350.5
 Moshi
21.6 Rundugai Halt
 31.7 Kikuletwa
 62.3 Usa River
 65.2 Tengeru Halt
 77.3 Tanganyika Packers Siding
 82.3 Themi states Siding
 86.1 Arusha

The Usambara Railway (German: Usambarabahn) was the first railway to be built in German East Africa and what is today Tanzania.

History

German East-Africa

A railway company was created in 1891 with the aim, to connect the port of Tanga at the Indian Ocean with the Lake Victoria by passing south of the Usambara Mountains. 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge was chosen. Since June 1893 the line advanced from Tanga inland. Due to undercapitalization the company had to be taken over by the state in 1899. Thereafter the line was run by the Ostafrikanische Eisenbahngesellschaft (East African Railway Cooperation), a company which had been created to build and operate the Tanganyika Central Line (Zentralbahn) from Dar es Salaam to Kigoma. Between Pongwe and Ngommi on the Usambara Railway there was a double hairpin turn. Around 1910, a cable spur (the Seilbahn) was constructed to connect the line with the sawmills at Neu-Hornow.

On 26 September 1911 the track reached Moshi at Mount Kilimanjaro after 351.4 km (218.3 mi). Traffic on the whole line commenced on 4 October 1911, the official inauguration took place on 7 February 1912. In 1914 one train ran from Tanga to Buiko and back daily and on two days of the week the service continued to and from Moshi. The trip over the entire distance took 14 hours 40 minutes.

From the station Tengeni to the town of Sigi there was a branch-line of 23.3 km (14.5 mi) constructed with 750 mm (2 ft 5 1⁄2 in) gauge possessing four hairpin turns on its course.

From 4 June 1912 – 12 May 1913 the line was renamed Nordbahn (Northern Railway) for a short period. The extension to Arusha was already planned and money provided but was not built due to the start of World War I.

British Mandate

The British mandate, which took over Tanganjika from the Germans, connected the Usambara Railway between Moshi and Voi with the Uganda Railway in Kenya and extended it 1929 to its current termination point Arusha.

Tanzania

After Tanzanian independence the Tanzania Central Line and the Usambara Railway were connected between Mruazi and Ruvu. During the East African Community, which covered Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, the Usambara Railway belonged to the East African Railways (EAR). This community was dissolved in 1977 and the Usambara Railway became part of the Tanzania Railways Corporation which was taken over in 2007 by an Indian investor.

Service

Under the German rule in 1913, the Usambara Railway operated 18 locomotives, 31 carriages and 199 trucks with 562 employees (of which 35 were Europeans).

After construction of the connection to Voi, traffic between Arusha, Moshi and the coast was directed to the port of Mombasa and the eastern part of the Usambara Railway was reduced to a local service. The passenger traffic was handled with four DMUs during this time. Passenger trains operated on the line into the 1990s.

Gallery

See also

Bibliography

External links

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