Dissertation Submitted to Mzumbe University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of Master of Business Administration (MBA) of Mzumbe University
Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC) has been providing passenger and cargo
transport services in Tanzania for several decades now. However, studies have not
examined the contribution of TRC’s service portfolio on the economic performance
of the Corporation. It is on this basis that this study is set to evaluate the contribution
of TRC’s rail transport services on its economic performance.
The study adopted a case study design .whereby TRC Headquarters in Dar es
Salam City was chosen as a case study. The study used secondary data and primary
data. The secondary was extracted from the financial statements from 2015 to 2019.
On sampling design, the study used purposive sampling and snowball sampling
techniques to obtain few respondents from TRC and passengers respectively for the
interview. Both descriptive and inferential analyses were used in analyzing data.
Descriptive analyses entailed calculation of mean, standard deviations, and
percentages while linear regression was the major inferential analysis. The findings
of the study were presented both qualitatively and quantitatively so as to give a
clear picture of the findings. The findings were presented consistent with the
objectives of the study.
The principal findings show that TRC is operating under loss. TRC, corporate
revenue is low due to fewer number of customers. The general trend onnumber of
passengers and tonnage is decreasing annually due to poor service provision and
unreliability of the train timetable. Moreover, it has been found that there has been
too much cancelation of the train routines. The study found that TRC has not been
experiencing profit for long time. Lastly, railway transport has not resulted into
significant employment creation whether direct or indirect. The firm has only
managed to pay its employees by 45% only while 55% being from the Central
Government. Furthermore, the study recommends that TRC should look for
initiative that will help with problem of underfunding, the firm should look for
development banks for loans so as it can operate its self effectively. Also, the firm should make improvements of infrastructure such as locomotives trains and
engines so as the railway transport to be more predictable.