At last, there is hope that plans to revamp the East African railway network, which is in poor shape after decades of neglect, could kick off this year.

The regional bloc has approved the budget for the East Africa Railway Authority — a secretariat expected to take office this year and oversee related projects — setting the stage for repair works and the construction of new lines, at a projected cost of $29 billion.

Presently, only 6,334km of the total railway system’s 7,363km is in use. 

While governments in the East African Community have set aside millions of dollars over the years to revamp the railway system, politics, indecisiveness and bureaucracy have frustrated key projects.

The regional authority, set up by the EAC at a cost of $1.8 million is now expected to implement a 2009 East African Railway Master Plan that seeks to ensure the region is fully inter-linked within the next decade.

Funds to set up the authority came from the African Development Bank, India Trust Fund and the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD).

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Top among the authority’s agenda is increasing efficiency by converting the railway into standard gauge which will double the speed of trains to 80 kilometres per hour.

According to the master plan, cargo on the existing network has the potential to increase from 3.7 million tonnes to over 16 million tonnes by 2030, at an annual growth rate of 6.7 per cent.

Presently, the railway handles only 10 per cent of the region’s port cargo when it could have done at least 70 per cent, according to the master plan. Most cargo is transported by road, causing them to deteriorate fast.

Infrastructure constraints — congested ports, bad roads and rail networks — add to the cost of goods and slow the region’s growth.

“The region’s infrastructure is under a lot of strain. We cannot grow economically unless we lower the cost of transport,” said Frank Matsaert, the chief executive officer at Trademark East Africa.

Richard Sezibera, the Secretary General of the EAC said there is an urgent need to address the situation.

“Poor infrastructure is causing a lot of stress and shortening the lifespan of our roads,” he said.

According to the region’s master plan, rail is the second most important mode of transport after roads, and is critical for long distance freight along the main corridors in Tanzania and Kenya.

At their summit held in Nairobi last December, the EAC Heads of States gave an upper hand to plans to revamp and expand the region’s railway system.

“Railway improvement remains a crucial mover for socio-economic development and must therefore continue receiving the utmost attention by all partner states,” said the Director of Infrastructure in the Ministry of East African Community Co-operation, George Lauwo.

Among projects the summit approved are the development of Dar-es-Salaam-Tabora-Mwanza railway and the rehabilitation of the Voi-Taveta line that will link Kenya and Tanzania.

Others are the rehabilitation of Mombasa-Nairobi-Kampala railway line to a standard gauge, the construction of Lamu-Isiolo-Moyale-Addis-Ababa, Isiolo-Nadapal-Juba and Nairobi-Isiolo standard gauge railway lines.

The East Africa Railway Authority will also address the funding challenge — the biggest obstacle that has been holding back restoration and constructions works.

It is expected that the common bargaining power of the EAC plus beneficiary countries like Ethiopia, South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will make it easier to convince investors to put their money into the projects.

Key possible financiers that have expressed interest to work with the proposed authority include the Africa Development Bank, European Investment Bank, JICA and various Chinese state and private agencies.

The EAC master plan proposes the construction of 14 railway lines that will enable countries like Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan to be connected to a rail system for the first time.

In Kenya and Uganda, repair and restoration works are being undertaken by the Rift Valley Railways (RVR), the concessionaire for the Kenya-Uganda railway for 25 years since 2006.

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Last year, the company spent $23 million to rehabilitate Mombasa-Kampala Railway line and replace nine culverts between Tororo and Jinja in Uganda in order to enhance the overall efficiency. The company is expected to spend $287 million over the next five years in rehabilitating the lines.

The restoration of rail services to northern Uganda is also expected in August 2013 after RVR announced restoration works on the 500 kilometre long Tororo- Pakwach line.

The company said rehabilitation of the line that has been dormant for 18 years started on November 19.

The line went out of operation as insecurity and vandalism peaked during the two-decade insurgency that pitted the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces and the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels.

With as many as 250 commercial trucks crossing between Uganda and South Sudan daily, restoration of rail services will reduce the burden on roads and accelerate the recovery of northern Uganda.

The rail is also expected to play a pivotal role in Uganda’s oil industry, transporting equipment as well as initial exports of crude.

Kenya Railways is also spending $5 million on rehabilitating commuter railway lines within Nairobi. Works include constructing modern railway stations and a 6.4 kilometre line that will link the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to the main commuter line.

Already, the first phase of the project has been completed with the construction of the Syokimau Railway Station, some 16km from the Central Business District, and the subsequent launch of commuter services, helping to ease traffic on the busy Mombasa Road, a highway that leads to the capital.

Tanzania will be home to most of the region’s planned new railway lines. Projects include rehabilitating the central line and the rail from Tanga to Arusha that will enable the landlocked countries of Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi access the Port of Dar es Salaam.

In October last year, Tanzania Railways Ltd launched the country’s first ever commuter train in Dar es Salaam to ease traffic on the roads.

One track covers a 25km journey between Dar es Salaam’s Mwakanga and Tazara railway stations and the second track runs 20km between Ubungo-Maziwa and City railway stations. The project cost $5.7 billion.

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In Rwanda and Burundi, the project, which will see the two countries get their first ever national railway lines is being held back by a $5 billion funding, estimated by a Canadian consulting company Canarail Railway that carried out the feasibility study.

According to Canarail Railway, construction is likely to start in 2017 under a public private partnership that has already been agreed upon by Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania through which the planned lines will originate from.

Upon completion, it is estimated that transport costs from the Port of Dar es Salaam to Rwanda and Burundi will drop by 40 per cent, thus reducing the cost of goods.

The Rwandan business community is upbeat about the planned railway as it is a cheaper alternative route to haul cargo compared with the Kenya-Uganda Railway line that the country currently depends on.

However, it is expected that by the time the two countries are linked to Dar es Salaam, the Kenya-Uganda Railway will have been upgraded to a faster and more reliable standard gauge line.  

By Steve Mbogo, Kabona Esiara and Timothy Kahoho