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Nearly 782,000 SGR tickets go unused in nine months

2 mins read

Nearly 782,000 SGR tickets go unused in nine months

Habari za Dharura

October 27, 2026 Admin0

Dodoma. Nearly 782,000 tickets purchased for Tanzania’s Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) services went unused between January and September 2026, with the government attributing the discrepancy partly to passengers who fail to travel and the allocation of seats along different routes.

The figures were presented in Parliament during the question-and-answer session of the First Meeting of the 13th Parliament, following a question from Tanga Urban MP Kassim Amar Mbaraka, who sought an explanation for why trains sometimes appear to have vacant seats despite online booking platforms indicating that tickets are sold out.

Deputy Minister for Transport David Kihenzile, responding on behalf of the government, said the Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) sold 7,635,835 tickets during the nine-month period, but only 6,853,869 passengers travelled, leaving a difference of 781,966 tickets.

Mr Kihenzile said the figures did not necessarily indicate a failure in the booking system, explaining that some passengers buy tickets but fail to undertake their journeys.

He also cited the way seats are allocated for passengers travelling between different stations, saying a seat may appear vacant during one section of a journey even though it has been booked for a passenger boarding at a later station.

“For example, a seat from Dodoma to Dar es Salaam may already have been purchased by a passenger travelling from Morogoro to Dar es Salaam. The system will therefore show that the seat is unavailable, although it may appear empty before the train reaches Morogoro,” he explained.

The clarification sought to address concerns over apparent discrepancies between online ticket availability and the number of passengers occupying seats on trains.

The deputy minister also pointed to high demand during weekends, particularly Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, saying passengers who fail to book early may struggle to secure tickets.

He urged travellers planning journeys during peak periods to make reservations in advance.

Providing figures for September 2026, Mr Kihenzile said TRC sold 381,214 tickets during the month, but 35,343 passengers did not travel, representing about 9.3 percent of tickets sold.

He said the government would continue monitoring the ticketing system and consider passengers’ recommendations to improve railway services.

His response followed Mr Mbaraka’s request for clarification on why trains sometimes appear to have empty seats despite online platforms showing that services are fully booked.

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