Uganda Railways Corporation
Encyclopedia
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
. It was formed after the breakup of the East African Railways Corporation (EARC) in 1977 when it took over the Ugandan part of the East African railways.
URC’s system is rooted in the British colonial gauge
Metre gauge
Metre gauge refers to narrow gauge railways and tramways with a track gauge of . In some African, American and Asian countries it is the main gauge. In Europe it has been used for local railways in France, Germany, and Belgium, most of which were closed down in mid 20th century. Only in Switzerland...
Uganda Railway
Uganda Railway
The Uganda Railway is a railway system and former railway company linking the interiors of Uganda and Kenya with the Indian Ocean at Mombasa in Kenya.-Origins:...
that was transformed after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
into the EARC. Its operation after the demise of the EARC had been hampered by civil war and inefficient management in Uganda. Only the 5 mi (8 km) line between Kampala
Kampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
and Port Bell
Port Bell
Port Bell is a small industrial centre in the greater metropolitan Kampala area, in Uganda. Port Bell has a rail link and a rail/road ferry wharf used for International traffic across Lake Victoria to Tanzania and Kenya.-Location:...
and the 120 mi (193.1 km) main line from Kampala
Kampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
to the Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
n border at Tororo
Tororo
Tororo is a town in Eastern Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative and commercial center of Tororo District. The district was named after the town.-Location:...
remain in use.
In 1989 government soldiers massacred sixty civilians at Mukura railway station.
Recently prospects for the URC have improved. Uganda Railways have been joint recipients of the 2001 Worldaware Business Award for "assisting economic and social development through the provision of appropriate, sustainable and environmentally complementary transport infrastructure". The Uganda Railways Update Report gives details of management improvement.
Railway links with adjacent countries
KenyaRail transport in Kenya
The former Uganda Railway, was run by the company East African Railways jointly for the countries of Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya after World War I. Since the dissolution of the EAR corporation in 1977 the national company Kenya Railways Corporation runs the former Uganda Railway and its branches in...
- yes - same gauge Tanzania
Rail transport in Tanzania
Rail transport in Tanzania is conducted by two companies:* Tanzania Railways Corporation* TAZARA- Railway links with adjacent countries : Burundi - no - proposed DR Congo - decades ago there was a train ferry between Kigoma and Kalemie, in 2007 there are no ferry links and the DR Congo line to...
- no direct connection except via train ferry
Train ferry
A train ferry is a ship designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ferries are sometimes referred to as "car ferries", as...
- same gauge Sudan
Rail transport in Sudan
Sudan has 4,725 kilometers of narrow-gauge, single-track railroads that serve the northern and central portions of the country. The main line runs from Wadi Halfa on the Egyptian border to Khartoum and southwest to Al Ubayyid via Sannar and Kusti, with extensions to Nyala in Southern Darfur and Wau...
- proposed - break of gauge / South Sudan
Rail transport in South Sudan
South Sudan has narrow-gauge, single-track railroads that connect Babonosa with Wau. The line was damaged in the civil war, in which several parts of it were mined; the line was fully rehabilitated with United Nations funds....
- proposed
ThyssenKrupp's Sudan-Uganda proposal
In October 2010, it was announced that ThyssenKruppThyssenKrupp
ThyssenKrupp AG is a German multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Duisburg Essen, Germany. The corporation consists of 670 companies worldwide. While ThyssenKrupp is one of the world's largest steel producers, the company also provides components and systems for the automotive...
was leading a project to link Juba
Juba
- Locations :* Juba, the capital of South Sudan* Juba, Estonia, a village in Võru Parish, Võru County, Estonia- People :* Juba I of Numidia * Juba II of Numidia * Juba of Mauretania...
, capital of the now South Sudan
South Sudan
South Sudan , officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country located in the Sahel region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN sub-region. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more...
, with Gulu, a town in northern Uganda.
Train ferries
URC operated three international train ferriesTrain ferry
A train ferry is a ship designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ferries are sometimes referred to as "car ferries", as...
on Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. The lake was named for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, by John Hanning Speke, the first European to discover this lake....
: , and . However, in the early hours of 8 May 2005 Kabalega and Kaawa collided almost head-on. Kaawa damaged her bow and Kabalega suffered damage to her bow and flooding in two of her buoyancy tanks. Kaawa managed to return to port but a few hours after the collision Kabalega sank about 8 nautical miles (15 km) southeast of the Ssese Islands
Ssese Islands
The Ssese Islands are an archipelago of eighty-four islands in the northwestern part of Lake Victoria in Uganda. The islands are coterminous with the Kalangala District in southern Central Uganda, which does not have any territory on mainland Uganda....
. After the collision Pamba was suspended from service and no Ugandan ferries now remain in operation.
In May 2008 the Daily Monitor stated that it expected the Ugandan government to announce in that year's budget speech a government allocation of 14 billion Ugandan Shilling
Ugandan shilling
The Shilling is the currency of Uganda. Technically, the shilling is subdivided into 100 cents but no subdivisions have been issued since the revaluation of the shilling in 1987.-History:...
s to buy a new train ferry to replace Kabalega. However, in September 2009 Uganda Radio Network said the Ugandan government was unlikely to replace Kabalega soon. Instead, the Minister of Works proposed to improve port facilities at Jinja
Jinja
Jinja may be:* Jinja, Uganda, a city in eastern Uganda close to the source of the Nile River* Jinja District, the district in Uganda named after the above city* Jinja, a Shinto shrine* Jinja , a template engine...
and Port Bell and let private operators run railway car float
Car float
A railroad car float or rail barge is an unpowered barge with rail tracks mounted on its deck. It is used to move railroad cars across water obstacles, or to locations they could not otherwise go, and is pushed by a towboat or towed by a tugboat...
s with greater capacity than the ferries. The minister stated that Kaawa and Pemba would be reconditioned and returned to service and that private businesses had expressed an interest in raising Kabalega and restoring her to use as a private concession. In October 2009 the Ugandan government reiterated that it would recondition the Pamba and Kaawa and return them to service in 2010 and 2011 respectively.
South Africa Involvement
Rift Valley Railways Consortium
The Rift Valley Railways Consortium is a consortium that was established to manage the parastatal railways of Kenya and Uganda. The consortium won the bid for private management of the century-old Kenya-Uganda railway in 2005.-History:...
from South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
was awarded a concession to manage URC and Kenya Railways
RVRC was scheduled to take over operations on 1 August 2006. On 28 July 2006 the East African Standard reported that the planned take-over was postponed to 1 November 2006. This operational take-over took place in November and is scheduled to last for 25 years. Robert E. Mortensen, a 30-year veteran of Conrail who later led Railroad Development Corporation efforts in Mozambique and Malawi, served as Chief Executive Officer of Uganda Railways Corporation from 1 August 2006 until 30 October 2006. He is now the Chief Executive Officer of Rift Valley Railways Uganda Limited. Rift Valley Railways Uganda Limited [as concessionaire] took over rail operations from Uganda Railways Corporation on 1 November 2006. Mr. Noel Muhangi of Kateera and Kagumire Advocates became Ag. Chief Executive Officer of Uganda Railways Corporation with effect from 1 November 2006.
On 9 October 2008, Toll Holdings
Toll Holdings
TOLL , properly TOLL Holdings Limited, is Australia's largest transport company, based in Melbourne, Victoria. The company has operations in road, rail, sea and air in 55 countries....
of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
announced that it has entered into a contract to manage the Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
-Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
railway, replacing the management by Rift Valley Railways Consortium (RVR). The consortium has been criticized for falling freight traffic in the two years since taking control, while RVR alleges the drop is due to the poor condition of the railway infrastructure and the damage done by protesters during the 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis
2007–2008 Kenyan crisis
The 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis refers to a political, economic, and humanitarian crisis that erupted in Kenya after incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner of the presidential election held on December 27, 2007. Supporters of Kibaki's opponent, Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic...
. Officers from Toll subsidiary Patrick Defence Logistics will manage the railway after the transition.
2008 Kenya crisis
The 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis2007–2008 Kenyan crisis
The 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis refers to a political, economic, and humanitarian crisis that erupted in Kenya after incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner of the presidential election held on December 27, 2007. Supporters of Kibaki's opponent, Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic...
included destructive riots that blocked and partly destroyed the rail system between Kenya and Uganda leading to economic difficulties in supply for Uganda. Further, destruction and loss of income led to significant financial losses.
See also
- East African Railway Master PlanEast African Railway Master PlanThe East African Railway Master Plan is a proposal for rejuvenating existing railways serving Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and extending them initially to Rwanda and Burundi and eventually to South Sudan, Ethiopia and beyond...
- Kenya Railways
- Transport in Kenya
- Transport in Uganda
- Uganda RailwayUganda RailwayThe Uganda Railway is a railway system and former railway company linking the interiors of Uganda and Kenya with the Indian Ocean at Mombasa in Kenya.-Origins:...