A look of Dar es Salaam Station, at the outskirts of the economic capital of Tanzania, on Dec 1, 2016. [Photo by Li Jing/China Daily]

The Tanzania-Zambia Railway, linking the port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania with the town of Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia's central province, used to be a major copper export route, as its export routes that ran through then apartheid controlled South Africa were cut off.

In 1976, Chinese construction crews completed the 1,860-kilometer-long TAZARA, the largest single foreign-aid project undertaken by China at the time, at an initial construction cost of $500 million. The train route represents the good relations among Tanzania, Zambia and China.

Dar es Salaam station, at the outskirts of the economic capital of Tanzania, is the starting terminal of the route, resembling railway stations in China's second-tier cities.

Forty years later, there is no more bustle of passengers, with only two pair weekly trains in operation. However, passengers at the booking office said they are regular commuters in the train, as it is safer and cheaper than other kinds of transportation.

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