East African Business Week (Kampala)
Mikaili Sseppuya
15 November 2009
Kampala — Kenya and Uganda Railways Corporation (KRC & URC) and their respective governments are planning to build a new standard rail line.
Kenya has already budgeted for the project and placed adverts for 'preliminary design for the proposed high capacity Standard Gauge Railway Line between Mombasa and Malaba with a branch to Kisumu'.
The KPA Managing Director James Mulewa said this last week while meeting clearing agents, importers and users of its services at Serena Hotel in Kampala last week.
"The ongoing joint plans of the KRC and URC to build a new standard rail line is
a positive move that will significantly improve cargo take off to the hinterland at a time when traffic is growing steadily and the regional economies are performing well.
"This is one of the projects whose support from the respective governments that are helping KPA to meet its scheduled targets. We continue to enjoy government support in our projects thus enabling us to meet most of the scheduled targets," Mulewa said.
The Kenyan High Commissioner to Uganda Major General Geoffrey Okanga said the new railway would lower the cost of transport along the Northern Corridor.
"Why is the cost of transport on the Northern Corridor said to be among the highest in the world? The railway will remove border delays, weighbridges and serve to save the road.
"The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to build the railway is ready. Ksh3b (about US$40m) is ready to design the wider gauge system which should be able to work 24 hours," he said.
The International Tender invitation placed by the Managing Director of KRC Nduva Muli says KRC wants "bids for advisory services to undertake preliminary design and develop suitable financing, construction and operating model for the railway."
KRC says construction of its side of the line is scheduled to start in May 2011 and reach Nairobi in 2013 then Kisumu and Malaba in 2016.
The advert envisages a double decker train on a standard (1435mm) gauge track. It also features an average passenger speed of 160kph, an average freight speed of 120kph and a nett capacity of 4000 tons on single and double track line and fully compliant with the environment.
The Uganda National Transport Plan also mentions the project adding the Kasese and other lines that have not been active. It does not however mention the time line within which the line will be built.
The current one meter gauge was started in 1895 and has long been overdue for replacement. One of the problems of the Rift Valley Railways that is now operating the line has been that it could not perform better without the infrastructure being upgraded. Railway transport is the proffered mode of transit transport for its imports and exports by Uganda being cheaper and saving roads to make hinterland products more competitive.
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