By Muhidin Issa Michuzi
If you like altitude in your adventures and coffee fresh from the source, meet Arusha — a Tanzanian town where diplomacy shares space with chic kiosks, Mount Meru replaces a skyline and the air smells of eucalyptus, ambition, and roasted maize. Mom is a safari and conference hub. Arusha also has a sister — and a story — the long-languishing Usambara railway.
Yes, Arusha had a railway — sort of. To understand its fate, we travel to the late 19th century when Germany, eager to expand influence and coffee exports, planned a railway from the port of Tanga to Lake Tanganyika. This “Usambara Railway” sounded grand — but the terrain — forests, rock and stubborn hills — slowed progress. African labourers laid tracks through rivers and ridges, planting moustaches along the way. By 1893, the line reached Korogwe; by 1911, Mombo, winding along the Usambara Mountains, dubbed “The Switzerland of East Africa.”
Meanwhile, in Moshi, the Chagga produced coffee and won-class fame. The Germans, spotting economic opportunity, redirected the line inland. Moshi, cool, fertile and volcano-fringed, became the next goal. The line had crested Meru. The British, after a handover post–World War I, took over the half-built line and pushed ahead. Moshi was reached around 1930 — Arusha still beyond the rails — coffee was loaded onto trains, chasing grams and waving farewells at the station.
And Arusha? Just a short hop from Moshi, the extension was surveyed, begun and promised — 86 km of track planned between 1911 and 1929. Yet, budget cuts, shifting priorities and the rise of road transport halted the dream. Trucks took over freight duties. Arusha ended up with a station but no train — a railway town without a railway. The station stood proud, colonial and nostalgic, with a passenger terminal, parcels office and goods shed, all unused by locomotives.
Despite the missing link, Arusha thrived, becoming East Africa’s safari capital, launching expeditions to Serengeti, Manyara, Tarangire and Ngorongoro. It also grew into a diplomatic hub, hosting UN tribunals, peace talks and the East African Community headquarters. Tourists, ministers and filmmakers arrived — but not trains.
Down in Moshi, the line soldiered on through scenic sisal fields, banana groves and coffee farms, with Kilimanjaro’s snow peak in near view. Bed, breakfast, lavender, landcruisers, taxis and sprawling service sprawl. Eventually, trains stopped entirely and service fell. The Moshi station, weathered but dignified, still stood — memories intact, supported by the street market and the tracks while tea traders sold airtime beneath faded timetables.
Now, changes are on the horizon. In 2024, Tanzania Railways Corporation announced a US$3.3 billion Standard Gauge Railway linking Dar es Salaam to Musoma, passing through Tanga, Moshi and finally, Arusha. This sleek, electric, modern line is more than a transport project — it’s historical redemption.
For Arusha, it means the long-awaited arrival of a train that cements its already thriving status. For Moshi, it offers a chance to revive its station and connect to modern logistics. For travellers, it’s an historic coffee past jostling alongside plantations and volcanic ridges arriving just in time for a game drive and sundowners.
The Usambara Railway was never just about transport. It’s a story of ambition, geography and persistence. It climbed hills, passed in valleys and now decades later, may finally soar — and when that train whistle blows again, Arusha — at last — will be on the line.
