ARUSHA, Tanzania, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) will adjust the cross-border passenger train timetables from June 1 to provide for ample time for immigration formalities for international travelers.
The adjustment is also meant to ease the congestion of parcels and passengers seen at the stations and to provide more time and convenient connections for passengers u-turning at the Tunduma/Nakonde Border, according to a statement issued by TAZARA's head of public relations, Conrad Simuchile.
The adjustments will affect the train movements in the terminal departures, though the departures for the Mukuba passenger trains will remain the same, Simuchile said.
"The Mukuba Express will depart New Kapiri-Mposhi on Tuesdays at 16:00 and depart Dar es Salaam for the return journey to New Kapiri-Mposhi on Fridays at 15:50," he said. "The Kilimanjaro Ordinary will depart Dar es Salaam on Tuesdays at 11:00 and leave New Kapiri-Mposhi for the return journey to Dar es Salaam on Fridays at 11:00."
On the terminal arrivals, Simuchile said: "In the case of the Mukuba Express, which departs New Kapiri-Mposhi on Tuesdays at 16:00, the arrival time at Dar es Salaam will now be 12:10 on Thursday, while the arrival time for the Kapiri-Mposhi bound Mukuba Express will be 13:45 on Sunday."
"For the Kilimanjaro Ordinary, which departs Dar es Salaam on Tuesdays at 11:00, the arrival time at New Kapiri-Mposhi has changed to 22:54 on Thursday. For the return journey from New Kapiri-Mposhi, the Kilimanjaro Ordinary Passenger Train will now be reaching Dar es Salaam on Sunday at 22:09," the statement said.
On connections at Nakonde, the official said: "The passengers from Zambia who board the Mukuba Express on Tuesday will arrive in Nakonde on Wednesday morning at 08:41 and may return back to their home stations the same day with the Kilimanjaro Ordinary departing Nakonde at 19:34. And for those who head to Nakonde from Kapiri-Mposhi with the Kilimanjaro on Friday, they will arrive in Nakonde on Saturday at 14:07 and may catch the returning Mukuba Express Train at 19:40 the same day."
On the detention times at stations, the official said: "The detention period has now increased to 10 minutes for Nseluka, Chimba, Chandaweyaya, Makasa, Luchewe and Kapwila stations in Zambia and Chita, Mgeta and Mbingu stations in Tanzania, where extreme congestion of passengers and parcels have been observed in the past."
"In the same vein, detention time has been increased to 25 minutes at Kasama and Chozi stations, to 40 minutes at Nakonde and Makambako stations, and to 60 minutes at Mbeya station, for purposes of immigration formalities and other technical reasons."
