Railway and logistics

Since 1912 Tabora has been where the railway from Dar es Salaam divides: north-west to Mwanza on Lake Victoria, west to Kigoma on Lake Tanganyika, and south-west to Mpanda. The metre-gauge Central Line still carries passengers and freight on all three routes.

The standard-gauge railway

The SGR is the biggest investment in the region’s history. The Dar es Salaam–Mwanza line runs through Tabora: the Makutupora–Tabora section (368 km, built by Yapı Merkezi) and the Tabora–Isaka section (165 km, with stations at Nzubuka, Ipala and Bukene) are under construction, and the whole Dar–Mwanza line passed 69% completion in September 2026. On 20 July 2026 construction began on the Tabora–Kigoma section (506 km, built by CCECC), for completion in 2030. When it is done, Tabora will be a few hours from the coast and the hub of a line reaching both lakes and, beyond Kigoma, Burundi and eastern Congo.

Road transport

Two trunk roads cross at Tabora: the T18 Singida–Tabora–Kigoma, paved for most of its length, and the T8 Mbeya–Tabora–Mwanza, partly unpaved. Road haulage carries the region’s tobacco, crops and goods to Dar es Salaam, Mwanza and the borders; road hauliers such as Supreme Trucking are based in the region, and the garages and spare-parts trade that keep the trucks moving are a business in themselves. See Transport & logistics in the directory.

Air

Tabora Airport, 8 km south of town, handled 19,302 passengers in 2024 and is served by Air Tanzania from Dar es Salaam and Kigoma.