Transport in Uganda

Railways

Total: 1,244 km
metre gauge: 1,244 km 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in) gauge (2008)
note: A program to rehabilitate the railway started in (1995), however much of the railway is inoperative.

Railway links with adjacent countries, as of 9 July 2011 references to southern Sudan reflect the new nation of South Sudan

• Kenya - yes - same gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in)
• South Sudan - proposed - break of gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in)/1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
• Democratic Republic of the Congo - no - break of gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in)/1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
• Rwanda - no railways yet
• Tanzania - no direct connection except via train ferry - same gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in)

Couplings and brakes

• couplings : meatchopper (Norwegian)
• Brakes : Air ^[1]

2008

• Kenya and Uganda have decided to build new railways at 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) gauge.^[2] This decision seems not to mention variable gauge axles which would make gauge change much more easy.
• June 2008 Uganda to buy a new train ferry for Lake Victoria for about $9m.^[3]

2007

• September 2007 - Uganda to get 4 new railway lines. A vast network of additional railway lines within East Africa and others linking the region to neighbouring Ethiopia, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo is on the cards. Four new lines connecting to South Sudan, DRC and Tanzania. These are Kasese-Kisangani, Gulu-Nimule-Juba, Masaka-Biharamulo and Pakwach-Juba-Wau. Tanzania would be the main beneficiary of the new railway lines should the ambitious project materialise. Besides the Isaka-Kigali line, eight other new railway lines have been proposed within the country, linking Tanzania with other states. These are Liganga-Mchuchuma, Mchuchuma-Mbamba Bay, Liganga-Mlimba, Dar es Salaam- Mtwara, Biharamulo-Masaka (via Bukoba), Tunduma-Kigoma (through Sumbawanga and Mpanda), Uvinza-Bujumbura and Bagamoyo-Kidomole.^[4]
• On 6 September, further talks took place at State House, Kampala, between Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and engineers from Germany concerning the new standard gauge railway they propose linking South Sudan's railhead at Wåw to Uganda and Kenya. Klaus Thormahlen, managing director of Thormahlen Holdings International and Jens Flachsbarth, managing director of the Ingeno Group, presented details of the scheme envisaged. Ugandan minister for works John Nasasira attended the meeting, as well as NEPAD Kenya Secretariat chief executive Grace Ongile, and principal economist Abdulrahman Ismail.^[5]
• Proposed link to Uganda west of Lake Victoria ^[6]
• March 2007 - proposed Inland port at Tororo.

2006

• A proposal surface link to South Sudan via Uganda to the port of Mombasa in Kenya -.^[7] This line would be financed by China, and extend from Pakwach to Juba, South Sudan.
• Rift Valley Railways Consortium to take over management in 2006.

Maps

• UN Map

Towns served by rail

Roadways

Total: 70,746 km
paved: 16,272 km
unpaved: 54,474 km (2003)

International highways

The Lagos-Mombasa Highway, part of the Trans-African Highway network and aiming to link East Africa and West Africa, passes through Uganda. This is complete only eastwards from the Uganda–DR Congo border to Mombasa, linking the African Great Lakes region to the sea. It is commonly called the 'Trans-Africa Highway' in Uganda.

It cannot be used to reach West Africa because the route westwards across DR Congo to Bangui in the Central African Republic (CAR) is impassable after the Second Congo War and requires reconstruction. An alternative route (not part of the Trans-African network) to Bangui based on gravel roads and earth roads runs from Gulu in northern Uganda via Nimule and Juba, South Sudan and Obo in south-east CAR. This is used by trucks but sections are impassable after rain.

The route has been closed at times during war and conflict in northern Uganda (the Lord's Resistance Army rebellion) and South Sudan, but up to July 2007 had not been affected by the Darfur conflict and was the only usable road between East and West Africa. The security situation should be checked with authorities in northern Uganda, South Sudan and south-eastern CAR before use.

Waterways

Lake Victoria is the principal waterway with commercial traffic. In conjunction with train services, the railway companies of Uganda and Tanzania operate train ferries on the lake between railhead ports of the two countries and Kenya. These ferries load rail coaches and wagons. The safety record has been poor in recent years. Jinja and Port Bell (on a 7 km branch line from Kampala) are the railheads for Uganda, connecting to Mwanza, Tanzania and Kisumu, Kenya.

The Port Bell ferry wharf is visible on high-resolution Google Earth photos at latitude 0.2885° longitude 32.653°. A ferry is shown loading truck and rail coaches while another waits.

Other ferries serve non-railhead ports on the lake.

Lake Kyoga and the Victoria Nile south of the lake constitute the second most important commercial waterway. There used to be a steamboat service between Namasagali, a railhead port on the Nile, going as far as Masindi-Port on the other side of Lake Kyoga.

Other waterways such as Lake Albert, Lake George, Lake Edward, and the Albert Nile do not carry commercial traffic to any great extent.

Airports

Main International Airport: Entebbe International Airport and Soroti Airport

46 (2012)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 5
over 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2012)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 41
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 26
under 914 m: 7 (2012)

See also

• Uganda
• East African Railway Master Plan
• Lake Victoria ferries

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook website https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html.

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