All aboard
Line up for the Lunatic Express
Man eating lions, murder, political controversy, highs and lows - the so-called “Lunatic Line” has seen it all. Where is it? It is the railway built in the era of British East Africa that runs from Mombasa to Kisumu on the shores of Lake Victoria and on to Kampala in Uganda.
When originally built, in the 1890s and early 1900s, the line represented a huge achievement and had a major economic impact allowing for the import of British goods into the heartlands of Kenya and on to Uganda and the export of raw materials.
Today, however, the line is at something of a low point in terms of freight movement, accounting for less than 4% of freight haulage to/from the port of Mombasa and generally in very poor condition.
This situation is all the more unfortunate in that the roads around Mombasa are becoming increasingly congested – the long talked about Mombasa bypass has still not been actioned and the spread of a growing number of container depot operations outside the main port area is contributing to the gridlock that regularly occurs.
A properly functioning railway could do a lot to relieve this pressure particularly as the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) long ago established a network of inland container depots (ICD), including the Nairobi ICD, to gear the system for container transport.
Equally, it is important for the rail system to function more effectively for the port of Mombasa to realise its role as the main gateway port not just for Kenya but other countries such as Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. Further, the proper development of the rail system will complement the current plans in Mombasa to concession container terminal and other facilities.
It is, therefore, good to hear the news that Rift Valley Railroad Investments (RVRI), the private sector consortium established in 2005 to manage the parastatal railways of Kenya and Uganda, is now pressing ahead with firm plans to develop the rail system to a modern standard and to achieve efficient freight transport.
The first milestone it passed was to resolve long running shareholder issues and following on from this it announced a $287m capital expenditure programme to rehabilitate infrastructure and rolling stock. November also saw it sign a management and technical services agreement with America Latina Logistica (ALL).
Under the terms of the agreement, ALL will provide key support to RVRI’s five year, three point rehabilitation and investment programme, designed to deliver long-term improvements in the safety and efficiency of rail operations across Kenya and Uganda. A key element of this is tackling the problem of derailment by replacing worn out rails and at the same time ALL will help RVRI mobilise a comprehensive programme to address back-due maintenance on locomotives.
The two other key components are: the recruitment of key RVRI staff to enhance the existing management team and making substantial investments in information technology.
There is, therefore, for the first time in a very long time a real prospect of the Mombasa linked railroad system, that moves along the so-called Northern Corridor, taking a much larger role in hinterland freight operations. Further, it will aim to deliver a good service at cost which is significantly below that offered by the road alternative – half the cost over longer distances.
The average cost, for example, of moving a 40ft container by road from Mombasa to Kampala is put at $3800. It is cheaper today by rail but the typical journey time from Mombasa to Kampala is around one month, too long by far.
For the future, plans have also been conceived to build an entirely new regional railway based on the African standard gauge. All five members of the East African Community have agreed in principle to build the lines in their respective territories with work commencing in Kenya in 2012. A definite step in the right direction.
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