Tanzania Railways outfits Ford Rangers and Mercedez Benz trucks to run on Standard Gauge (SGR) line
These specially designed pickup trucks will be used to patrol, inspect, clean and even repair the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) tracks that so far run between Dar-es-salaam and Dodoma cities via Morogoro.
Black News 
Next time you spot ordinary cars running on the Standard Gauge Railway tracks in Tanzania don’t be surprised.
The Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) seems to have bought and customized two Ford ranger pickups and a Mercedes Benz Unimog with special rail track rollers thus converting them into hybrid Hi-Rail trucks that can be driven both on train tracks and on the roads.
And according to the TRC, these specially designed pickup trucks will be used to patrol, inspect, clean and even repair the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) tracks that so far run between Dar-es-salaam and Dodoma cities via Morogoro.
Apparently, Tanzania is not the first country to convert ordinary vehicles into multi-terrain and multipurpose Hi-Rail trucks.
These vehicles coming in a variety of different builds seem to effectively replace the old rail trolleys and hand cars.
The Hi-Rail Trucks are hybrid terrain vehicles that can rapidly switch between rail tracks and roads.
They form an important bridge between road and rail transportation.
These versatile vehicles, equipped with road and rail capabilities, serve many functions in the modern transportation ecosystem depending on their builds.
For instance, the standard builds, such as the ones to be now used on the SGR lines in Tanzania include pickup trucks serving as inspection vehicles, signal maintainers, service trucks, material handlers, welder vehicles, section trucks, and rotary dumps.
These standardized builds will often have unique design features that have been requested by their end-user.
Of all the commercial vehicles converted for hi-rail purposes, pickup trucks are one of the most common and this is particularly the case for Tanzania where the Railways Corporation is deploying Ford Rangers and Mercedes Benz Unimog models.
Their primary application for the Hi-Rail tracks in Tanzania may range from simple tracks’ inspection and transportation of tools, to something more sophisticated, like track geometry.
Hi-Rail trucks are sometimes utilized by track inspectors to accomplish various responsibilities, which are contingent on the specific railway such as the electric SGR lines in Tanzania.
Such responsibilities may include identifying track deviations, profile deviations, misalignments, and mud spots as well as repairing overhead electric lines in case of faults.
The Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) is a state-owned enterprise that runs one of the country’s two main railway networks. The other line operates under the Tanzania-Zambia Railways (TAZARA) entity.
