Nearly 200 passengers who were supposed to be travelling on a Tanzania Railways Corporation’s annual Christmas and New-Year train were stuck for two days at the Arusha Station, spending nights out in the cold with children.
It all started on Thursday, December 21, when more than 150 people in Arusha bought their TRC train tickets, hoping to travel from the Northern City to Dar-es-salaam aboard the passenger wagons, but somehow the locomotive failed to show up.
They were stuck at the Railway Station for 12 hours with the TRC management telling them that the train was on its way. Other would-be passengers were also waiting at other stations located along the way in Usa-River, Rundugai (Kikuletwa) and Moshi.
Khalfani Rajabu, one of the travellers that were intending to board the locomotive at Arusha said the train was pegged to depart at 2.00 pm in the afternoon but 24 hours later they were still stuck at the terminal without any car in sight.
Rukia Mohamed, a mother who spent nights at the station with children, lamented that the station management kept telling them that the train was on its way to Arusha from Dar-es-salaam but never showed up.
“Bus fares are very expensive at the moment that is why we chose to ride the train,” she said, adding that the waiting for the train proved to be even more expensive as they slept in the cold with nothing to eat.
Another victim of the delay, Timotheo Zebedayo said most people had only the train fare without extra money to buy food.
Marry Mpanda said the Arusha Station had no toilets for passengers so they were forced to pay in order to use the available latrine facilities.
The Station Master in-charge of Arusha Terminal Victor Ningo explained that the train which was to pick the passengers in Arusha developed mechanical problems upon reaching Mombo, in Tanga Region and had to be repaired.
He said they were even contemplating hiring buses that will take the passengers to Kilimanjaro so that they may board at the Moshi station.
Eventually after two days of delays, the train arrived to take the totally exhausted and hungry albeit angry passenger from Arusha.
The Tanzania Railways Corporation usually operates train services between Dar and Arusha during end-of-the-year holiday season to cash in on the anticipated rush, but usually with disastrous developments.
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