Tanzania has launched a 541-km modern standard gauge railway linking its administrative and commercial capitals, Dar es Salaam and Dodoma, as part of a $3.1 billion infrastructure initiative to boost transport and trade. President Samia Suluhu Hassan inaugurated the electric train services, which can carry up to 590 passengers and travel at speeds of 160 km/h. The project, built by Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi, is a segment of a larger planned network of 2,561 km aimed at enhancing regional connectivity. The railway received partial funding from a $1.46 billion loan from Standard Chartered Bank Tanzania, raising concerns about long-term debt implications. The government plans to extend the railway to Kigoma to improve links with neighboring Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, potentially facilitating the transport of three million tons of minerals annually. Despite the optimism for economic growth, critics warn about the burdens of loans from foreign entities on future generations.