Will Tanzania’s Standard Gauge Train be among the fastest in Africa once it launches in June 2024?

Tanzania had threatened to launch the country’s first high-speed train running on Standard Gauge Railways in January 2024, but for some reason the trial operations for the Electric Powered Locomotive was postponed to June 2024.

However at the maximum speed of 160 kilometers per hour, Tanzania’s SGR supported train is far from being the fastest railway vehicle on the continent, in fact it tanks in the ninth position.

The Fastest Trains in Africa as of 2024, so far, seem to be running in Nigeria, Morocco and Egypt.

Blazing the trails is the ‘Red Line Metro’ from Agbado-Oyingbo in Lagos State of Nigeria which is the fastest in Africa as it cruises at 330 Kilometers per hour.

Next up is the Al-Boraq speed rail service connecting Casablanca and Tangier in Morocco, which runs on the track at 320 kilometers per hour, along the route.

Egypt’s High speed rail network which cuts the wind at 250 kilometers per hour is third on the continent as far as velocity is concerned.

In the fourth position is the Gautrain Speed Rail System of South Africa, linking Johannesburg, Pretoria, Ekurhuleni and Oliver R. Tambo Airport at the speed of 160 kilometers per hour.

Also running at the speed of 160 kilometers per hour, is the El Ksar-Hai Nasr Light Rail Line of Algeria as well as the Regional Express Train (RET) of Senegal and the Djibouti – Addis-Ababa-Djibouti Railway of Ethiopia.

Now the 160 kilometers per hour seems to be the average sweet spot speed for most railway lines on the continent, because this is also the velocity proposed for the Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) vehicle once it gets commissioned in June 2014.

After that, there is the Rapid Rail Line connecting Tunis Station and the Bougatfa terminal in Tunisia which moves at 120 kilometers per hour, essentially the top speed of any bus on the road.

Finally closing in at Number 10 is the Diesel-powered, Nairobi-Mombasa Standard Gauge Railway train of Kenya which links the country’s coastline with the Capital City at 120 kilometers per hour, though it lacks in speed, passengers enjoy its slightly better comfort.