Getting the trains back on track
ENGINES OF GROWTH IMPROVEMENTS ARE BEING MADE TO THE RAIL NETWORK TO SPEED UP THE SERVICE AND CUT TRANSPORTATION COSTS FOR BUSINESS CUSTOMERS

DAUDI MURUNGI Managing Director of Uganda Railways Corporation

THE TRAINS and ferries that transport Uganda’s exports on the way to their markets are run by Uganda Railways Corporation (URC). As the largest overland transportation concern, it plays a vital role in the landlocked country’s economy.
URC transports around 60 percent of all Uganda’s exports and imports, carrying agricultural products such as coffee, cotton and timber out of the country and bringing in grains, sugar, machinery and petroleum products.
“We are basically an export and import railway, bringing imports from Mombasa and Dar es Salaam and sending out exports through the same routes,” says Managing Director Daudi Murungi.
The network that URC oversees stretches from Kampala to Kasese in Western Uganda and to Pakwach in Northern Uganda, through the industrial towns of Jinja, Tororo, Mbale and Lira. At Tororo, it links up with the Kenya Railways network at Malaba. The corporation also runs marine freight services across Lake Victoria, linking Uganda to Mombasa in Kenya, through Kisumu Port, and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, through Mwanza Port.

ON THE WAY: Private sector involvement will give new life to the railways

Scheduled for privatization, the corporation is currently in the process of trying to reduce transportation costs by improving the infrastructure of the network, most of which dates back a long way.
The Kampala-Malaba line, for example, was constructed in 1928 and little has been done to improve it since then. Complete overhaul of the line is estimated at $35 million. URC has recently replaced around 20,000 sleepers and further funding is to come from the European Union. After completion of the project, the number of derailments will be reduced and speed restrictions eliminated.

“Currently, trains go slowly because we are not very sure about the line,” says Mr. Murungi. “We have been trying to remove bad spots along the line and once we are done we will be able to increase the speed and reduce transit time. If you upgrade the lines, there are some sections where you can use two locomotives instead of one, and cut the time.”
The government wants to see more industrial haulage shifted from road to rail. Moves are underway to improve efficiency and URC is working with the Uganda Revenue Authority to ensure 24-hour operation at major entry points like Malaba and at the railway terminals. Staff numbers have been cut from more than 5,000 five years ago to 1,240 today.

“We are trying to improve on our operations,” Mr. Murungi says. “Eventually our costs will come down and we shall pass some of the savings on to our customers.”
URC is currently fully state owned. A concession is to be offered for operation and maintenance of the lines and the rolling stock, although the infrastructure will remain the responsibility of the government.

JOHN NASASIRE Minister of Works, Housing and Communications

“We expect the concessionaire to bring in expertise and more capital, and to make the railway more efficient and commercially attractive,” says John Nasasira, Minister of Works, Housing and Communications. He believes the railway has a good future, particularly once the instability in the region is resolved.

“We hope that Congo will settle down. We are looking at connecting the railway line from Kampala to South Africa. There is a lot to do in the whole of Eastern Congo and the private sector in South Africa is looking at another route from Kampala to Kasese through Rwanda and down to the south.”
Mr. Murungi agrees that future prospects are promising. “As a landlocked country, we have done very well in establishing a working relationship with the Kenya and Tanzania Railways, because our wagons have to work through their systems on a day-to-day basis.”
“The need for railway transport is growing,” he says. “What we are doing is creating an efficient railway for the future of the country and anybody who will come and invest in this railway will certainly make money out of it.”