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