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TAZARA Railway - Quiz
Contributed by: Alvarado
  • 1. What are the alternative names for the TAZARA Railway?
A) Uhuru Railway and Tanzam Railway
B) Zambezi Railway
C) Trans-African Railway
D) East African Railway
  • 2. Which two countries are linked by the TAZARA Railway?
A) Tanzania and Zambia
B) Zambia and Zimbabwe
C) Malawi and Tanzania
D) Tanzania and Mozambique
  • 3. What is the length of the TAZARA Railway?
A) 1,860 km (1,160 mi)
B) 2,000 km (1,240 mi)
C) 1,500 km (930 mi)
D) 1,200 km (750 mi)
  • 4. Which organization operates the TAZARA Railway?
A) African Railway Association
B) Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA)
C) East African Railways Corporation
D) China Railway Corporation
  • 5. Why was the TAZARA Railway built?
A) To connect Tanzania and Zambia for tourism
B) To facilitate trade between China and Africa
C) To promote cultural exchange between Tanzania and Zambia
D) To eliminate Zambia's economic dependence on Rhodesia and South Africa
  • 6. What does 'Uhuru' mean in Swahili?
A) Peace
B) Hope
C) Unity
D) Freedom
  • 7. Which country financed and supported the construction of the TAZARA Railway?
A) United States
B) United Kingdom
C) China
D) Germany
  • 8. How long did the construction of the TAZARA Railway take?
A) 1980 to 1985
B) 1970 to 1975
C) 1975 to 1980
D) 1965 to 1970
  • 9. What was the construction cost of the TAZARA Railway in 1970s dollars?
A) $406 million
B) $500 million
C) $250 million
D) $300 million
  • 10. How many Chinese technicians worked on the TAZARA Railway project?
A) Approximately 5,000
B) Approximately 20,000
C) Approximately 10,000
D) Approximately 13,000
  • 11. What was the peak freight traffic on the TAZARA Railway?
A) 2 million tons in 1985
B) 1.5 million tons in 1988
C) 1.2 million tons in 1986
D) 1 million tons in 1987
  • 12. What was the lowest recorded freight traffic on the TAZARA Railway?
A) 88,000 metric tons in FY 2014/2015
B) 75,000 metric tons in FY 2012/2013
C) 100,000 metric tons in FY 2013/2014
D) 50,000 metric tons in FY 2015/2016
  • 13. What is the design capacity of the TAZARA Railway in terms of freight?
A) 3 million tonnes per year
B) 6 million tonnes per year
C) 4 million tonnes per year
D) 5 million tonnes per year
  • 14. When was the proposal for upgrading the TAZARA Railway to standard gauge submitted?
A) December 2024
B) February 2024
C) January 2023
D) March 2025
  • 15. Which organization submitted the proposal for upgrading the TAZARA Railway?
A) China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC)
B) World Bank
C) Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority
D) United Nations Development Programme
  • 16. When was the Memorandum of Understanding for the TAZARA Railway upgrade signed?
A) November 2024
B) August 2023
C) October 2025
D) September 2024
  • 17. How much investment is Tanzania receiving for the rehabilitation of the TAZARA Railway?
A) 1.4 billion US dollars
B) 1 billion US dollars
C) 1.2 billion US dollars
D) 2 billion US dollars
  • 18. When did the active implementation phase of the TAZARA Railway project begin?
A) Early 2025
B) Late 2025
C) Early 2026
D) Mid 2027
  • 19. When were passenger services resumed on the TAZARA Railway?
A) March 5, 2026
B) January 15, 2026
C) February 10, 2026
D) April 10, 2026
  • 20. How much is being invested in the repair of the TAZARA Railway tracks?
A) 1.5 billion US dollars
B) One billion US dollars
C) 750 million US dollars
D) 500 million US dollars
  • 21. How much is being invested in new locomotives and wagons for the TAZARA Railway?
A) 600 million US dollars
B) 400 million US dollars
C) 300 million US dollars
D) 500 million US dollars
  • 22. What model is the current strategy focusing on for the TAZARA Railway's operational sustainability?
A) Public-Private Partnership model
B) International consortium model
C) Private-only model
D) Government-only model
  • 23. In which direction does the TAZARA Railway cross Tanzania?
A) Northwest
B) Southwest
C) Southeast
D) Northeast
  • 24. Which national park does the TAZARA Railway pass through?
A) Kaziranga National Park
B) Serengeti National Park
C) Kruger National Park
D) Nyerere National Park
  • 25. How many bridges does the TAZARA Railway have between Mlimba and Makambako?
A) 30 bridges
B) 46 bridges
C) 60 bridges
D) 18 bridges
  • 26. How many tunnels are there in the stretch between Mlimba and Makambako?
A) 18 tunnels
B) 10 tunnels
C) 46 tunnels
D) 25 tunnels
  • 27. Which region does TAZARA enter after leaving the coast?
A) Mikumi National Park
B) Nyerere National Park
C) Pwani Region
D) Selous
  • 28. Which river does the TAZARA Railway cross for the first time in the Selous?
A) Great Ruaha River
B) Mpanga River
C) Kipengere River
D) Kilombero River
  • 29. What is the name of the fertile valley that the TAZARA Railway cuts through?
A) Njombe Valley
B) Mbeya Valley
C) Kilombero Valley
D) Makambako Valley
  • 30. What is the height of the pillars supporting the bridge across the Mpanga River?
A) 30 m (98 ft)
B) 50 m (164 ft)
C) 60 m (197 ft)
D) 70 m (230 ft)
  • 31. Where does the metre gauge branch railway connect to the Central Line?
A) Makambako
B) Kidatu
C) Mbeya
D) Mlimba
  • 32. In which region does the TAZARA Railway level out onto a rolling plateau?
A) Mbeya Region
B) Iringa Region
C) Njombe Region
D) Morogoro Region
  • 33. Which region does the TAZARA Railway and the Tanzania-Zambia Highway run parallel through after Makambako?
A) Morogoro Region
B) Njombe Region
C) Iringa Region
D) Mbeya Region
  • 34. What geographical feature does the TAZARA Railway cross several times in the Mbeya Region?
A) Upstream tributaries of the Great Ruaha
B) Kipengere Range
C) Kilombero River
D) Mpanga River
  • 35. What range takes over after the Kipengere Mountains?
A) Nyerere National Park
B) Udzungwa Mountains
C) Selous
D) Uporoto Range
  • 36. Where do both the railway and the highway head northwest to cross the border into Zambia?
A) Tunduma
B) Makambako
C) Mbeya
D) Kidatu
  • 37. In which district does the TAZARA Railway first enter Zambia?
A) Kasama District
B) Mpika District
C) Nakonde District
D) Lusaka District
  • 38. Which companies are upgrading the TAZARA Railway?
A) South African companies
B) Tanzanian companies
C) Chinese companies
D) Zambian companies
  • 39. What type of couplers does the TAZARA Railway use?
A) Screw
B) Link and pin
C) Fisher
D) Janney (AAR)
  • 40. What type of brakes does the TAZARA Railway use?
A) Mechanical
B) Air/vacuum
C) Electro-pneumatic
D) Hydraulic
  • 41. What type of sleepers are used on the main line of the TAZARA Railway?
A) Steel
B) Plastic
C) Concrete
D) Wood
  • 42. What type of rail material is used on the TAZARA Railway?
A) Alloy steel
B) High-manganese steel
C) Carbon steel
D) Stainless steel
  • 43. What type of signals are used on the TAZARA Railway?
A) Semaphore
B) Color light
C) Electric
D) Morse code
  • 44. Who initially envisioned a railway from British Rhodesia to Tanganyika in the late 19th century?
A) Julius Nyerere
B) Cecil Rhodes
C) Sir Alexander Gibb
D) Kenneth Kaunda
  • 45. After World War I, which country administered Tanganyika as a League of Nations Mandate?
A) United Kingdom
B) France
C) Germany
D) Belgium
  • 46. Why did Western powers refuse to construct the Tanzam railway initially?
A) Lack of technological capability
B) Political instability in the region
C) Insufficient demand for railway services
D) It would have been unprofitable for Western investors
  • 47. What did the 1952 report by Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners conclude about the Northern Rhodesia-Tanganyika railway?
A) It required further study
B) It was essential for regional development
C) It was economically viable
D) It was not economically justified
  • 48. What did the World Bank report recommend instead of building a railway?
A) No infrastructure development
B) A port should be developed
C) A pipeline should be constructed
D) A road should be built
  • 49. In which year did Tanganyika become independent?
A) 1960
B) 1961
C) 1964
D) 1962
  • 50. In which year did Northern Rhodesia gain independence as Zambia?
A) 1962
B) 1964
C) 1961
D) 1963
  • 51. Who was the leader of Zambia after its independence in 1964?
A) Sir Alexander Gibb
B) Julius Nyerere
C) Cecil Rhodes
D) Kenneth Kaunda
  • 52. What political ideology did both Julius Nyerere and Kenneth Kaunda support?
A) Monarchism
B) Capitalism
C) Socialism
D) Communism
  • 53. Which country did Nyerere and Kaunda first seek funding from for the railway project?
A) China
B) France
C) United States
D) Britain
  • 54. Who offered to assist Tanzania and Zambia in building the railway during Nyerere's visit to Beijing in February 1965?
A) Abdulrahman Babu
B) Chairman Mao Zedong
C) Harold Wilson
D) President Liu Shaoqi
  • 55. How long did the Chinese surveyors travel on foot to choose and align the railway's path?
A) One year
B) Nine months
C) Six months
D) Three months
  • 56. How many bridges were constructed as part of the TAZARA Railway project?
A) 250
B) 200
C) 320
D) 400
  • 57. Which Tanzanian leader was sentenced to death in 1972 but later pardoned?
A) Kwame Nkrumah
B) Abdulrahman Mohamed Babu
C) Jomo Kenyatta
D) Julius Nyerere
  • 58. What was the impact of the Cultural Revolution on the TAZARA Railway project?
A) Despite the upheaval, the project pressed forward
B) The project was completed ahead of schedule
C) The project was abandoned
D) The project was halted indefinitely
  • 59. How many stations were constructed as part of the TAZARA Railway project?
A) 93
B) 50
C) 80
D) 120
  • 60. What percentage of the bridges, tunnels, viaducts, and earthworks of the entire route is located in the 16-kilometre section from Mlimba to Makambako?
A) Almost 30 percent
B) 50 percent
C) 40 percent
D) 20 percent
  • 61. How many Chinese nationals died in construction accidents during the TAZARA Railway project?
A) 70
B) 64
C) 50
D) 80
  • 62. What was the terrain like after the work crews reached Zambia?
A) The terrain became more rugged
B) The terrain became swampy
C) The terrain became much easier
D) The terrain remained unchanged
  • 63. What percentage of rail cars were out of operation by 1978?
A) Three-quarters
B) A quarter
C) Half
D) All
  • 64. How many students were expelled in the first year for misbehavior?
A) Fifty
B) None
C) All two hundred
D) A dozen
  • 65. How many Zambian crew members were fired in 1978 for stealing?
A) 20
B) 50
C) 100
D) 5
  • 66. Which organization's supply lines were targeted by the white Rhodesian government?
A) SWAPO
B) ZIPRA
C) FRELIMO
D) ANC
  • 67. How many bridges were destroyed by Rhodesian forces?
A) Five
B) Ten
C) One
D) Three
  • 68. In which year did Tanzania and Zambia invite the Chinese to help manage the TAZARA railway?
A) 1990
B) 1983
C) 1987
D) 1993
  • 69. How many Chinese managers were assigned to railway bureaus along the TAZARA route in 1983?
A) About 500
B) About 250
C) About 150
D) About 300
  • 70. Which of the following countries was NOT a contributor to the $150 million foreign aid from 1987 to 1993?
A) Italy
B) Austria
C) Sweden
D) Denmark
  • 71. In which year did the United States join the donor efforts to improve the TAZARA railway?
A) 1987
B) 1993
C) 1983
D) 1990
  • 72. Which company agreed to re-commence shipping copper on the TAZARA in April 2013?
A) Glencore.
B) Anglo American.
C) Konkola Copper Mines.
D) Rio Tinto.
  • 73. Which South African firm reached an agreement with TAZARA in 2018?
A) African Railways.
B) Transnet.
C) Calabash Freight.
D) Barloworld Logistics.
  • 74. How many more locomotives are planned for the TAZARA modernization project?
A) 40
B) 20
C) 50
D) 32
  • 75. How long after TAZARA did China complete another new main line railway in Africa?
A) 20 years
B) 41 years
C) 10 years
D) 50 years
  • 76. How was TAZARA initially handed over to the Tanzanian and Zambian governments?
A) After 20 years
B) After 3-5 years
C) Immediately
D) After 10 years
  • 77. What era is associated with the 'struggle, hardship, and glorious achievement' of TAZARA?
A) Jiang Zemin era
B) Mao era
C) Hu Jintao era
D) Deng Xiaoping era
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