2.4 Uganda Railway Assessment
Uganda Railway Assessment Capacity Table Key Route Information Key Stations
Uganda Railway Assessment
The country has about 1,350 kms of rail lines and most of it had not been operational for over 20 years. Repairs have been completed on the Tororo-Gulu line and still ongoing on the Gulu Pakwach Line. A railroad originating at Mombasa on the Indian Ocean connects with Tororo, where it branches westward to Jinja, Kampala, and Kasese and northward to Mbale, Soroti, Lira, Gulu, and Pakwach. Uganda's important road and rail links to Mombasa serve its transport needs and also those of its neighbors like Rwanda, Burundi, and parts of D.R. Congo and South Sudan.
The Northern Line from Tororo and Malaba to Kampala is 251 km. This line forms part of the Northern Corridor between Kampala and Mombasa. It provides connections to the Ports of Mombasa in Kenya through Malaba by rail and both rail and marine through Port Bell in Uganda and Kisumu in Kenya and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania through Mwanza. The rail service runs block trains carrying imports and exports.
The Malaba – Soroti Line (161 km) opened in 2006 and RVR plans to extend this route to Gulu. Lines that were not economically viable were suspended and covered the following sections:
The Kampala – Kasese Line (333 kms) Tororo – Gulu (The Northern Route 342 Kms) Northern Line from Soroti to Pakwach (341 kms) Busoga Line from Jinja – Mbulamuti – Busembatia (146 kms)
Of the 5 railway lines that make up Uganda’s railway system, the Kampala – Malaba (Kenya Border) line and the short Kampala - Port Bell and recently the Tororo-Mbale – Soroti and Gulu line remain officially operational. RVR is slowly re-building the network further north and repair works are ongoing on the Gulu-Pakwach line.
Page 1 RVR’s use of a single consignment note have made it easier for customers to pay at a one-stop point in Malaba- Kenya. The installation of Monitoring Rail Tracker Software, (ACK) has enhanced customer satisfaction as it tracks train movement, un-authorised stops, speed and accidents.
Between the last quarter of 2014 and the first quarter of 2015, RVR purchased 20 new locomotives to boost its existing capacity. RVR also expects 500 high capacity new wagons each with a carrying capacity of 60mt, by June 2015.These are hoped to reduce transit time between Mombasa and Kampala and to improve on cargo management efficiency.
The Mombasa-Nairobi project is set to commence by October 2014 and the whole project of the Mombasa-Malaba-Kisumu section is expected to be completed by 2018. Thereafter, the rail line will be expanded to link Kampala, DRC, Kigali, Bujumbura and Juba, drawing unmistakable similarities to Cecil John Rhodes’s intended Cape to Cairo Railway that will eventually unify all of East Africa.
Proposed route of the standard gauge railway.
4.10 Uganda Railway Company Contact List
Railway Companies and Consortia
The Rift Valley Railways Consortium (RVR) is a consortium that was established to manage the railways of Kenya -Uganda. The consortium won the bid for private management of the century-old Uganda Railway in 2005. For more information see:Rift Valley Railways Consortium
Rift Valley Railways Consortium (extensions)
4.10 Uganda Railway Company Contact List
Capacity Table
Operator /
RVR
Operates on (lines) 2,200km Kenya-Uganda
Max train length and/or pulling capacity 30 wagons
Locomotives (electric/diesel/steam) Diesel
Freight Wagons (covered) / size 13.7m*2.65m*2.8m
Freight Wagons (flatbed) / size 13.3m*2.77m*0.5m
Freight Wagons (high-sided)/size 12.08m*2.75m*2.06m
Freight Wagons (drop-side)/size 3x20' or 1x40'+1x20'
or 2x20' or 1x40'
Key Route Information
Route A Route B
From Mombasa- To Kisumu From – Mombasa To Tororo
3 3 Track gauge Single 1,000 mm (3 ft. 3 8 in) 1,000 mm (3 ft. 3 8 in)
Ruling gradient 1 in 37 1 in 37
Total track distance (single and/or double) 1920km 431km
Type of rail (weight and if welded or not) 95lb 50lb
Maintenance (Good, marginal, bad) Good Fair
Companies-consortiums operating on line RVR RVR
Traffic frequency (monthly/weekly/daily) Daily Weekly
Security (Good, marginal, bad) Good Good
Main stations (Add details below) Mombasa, Nairobi, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret Tororo, Jinja, Kampala
Page 2 Key Stations
Key Station Information
Mombasa Tororo Kampala
Location KENYA UGANDA UGANDA
Contact Information www.riftvalleyrail.com www.riftvalleyrail.com www.riftvalleyrail.com
Connections with other Road, water, air Road Road, water
transport means
(road/waterways/air)
Storage Capacity 25,000sqm N/A N/A
(square meters and cubic meters)
Handling Equipment Available N/A N/A
Handling Capacity: 6,000mt/hour N/A N/A
MT / Hour And about 75 TEUs per hour.
TEU / Hour
Other Comments N/A N/A N/A
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