Rail transport in South Sudan
South Sudan does not have an extensive rail system. Current rail infrastructure, which was constructed between 1959–1962, and was left over from the previous Sudan government is in a serious state of disrepair. It consists of a 248 kilometers (154 mi)
History
Construction and downturn
Sudan Railways network underwent its final spur of railway construction in the 1950s.
Sources in the Sudan suggested that construction of a new southern extension railway would begin in January 2006, with an estimated cost of $US2 billion. Costello Garang, outgoing
During the continuing of the civil war in the south (1983–2005), the bridge at Aweil was destroyed in the 1980s and left Wau without rail access for over 20 years. Military trains went as far as
Independence
The following year, the people of
On 5 August 2011, Rift Valley Railways (RVR), a subsidiary owned by Egypt-based Citadel Capital announced it was considering financing a railway between Juba and Tororo, Uganda in a bid to capture the expected huge flow of goods between Africa’s newest state. The planned rail line from Tororo to Juba is estimated at almost half the distance of the 1,200-kilometre Lamu-Sudan line. The decision to link the Uganda line to South Sudan would be reached in consultation with its partners in RVR—TransCentury and Uganda’s Investment firm Bomi Holdings.[5]
On 28 November 2013, Kenyan officials announced they would be formally launching a new, Chinese-financed railway that will extend across East Africa to reach
. The line is expected to extend as far north as Juba, South Sudan when the link between the Kenyan port of Mombasa to the Kenyan capital Nairobi is completed. Allowing passenger trains to travel at a top speed of 120 km/h (75 mph), with freight trains having a maximum speed of 80 km/h.National Network
Narrow gauge
The South Sudanese railways were originally built by Sudan. The railways were built to the 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge, the same track gauge used in most other former British colonies in Africa.
The country has one major narrow-gauge rail lines:
- The line connects Babanusa of Sudan to Wau in the northern province of Bahr el Ghazal, over a distance of 248 kilometers (154 mi).
Standard gauge
The Uganda Standard Gauge Railway will connect to Rwanda, South Sudan, and to the Mombasa–Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway whose construction is already underway. Nimule was selected as potentially being used as future Train station location.[7]
Stations and routes
Wau railway station is the terminus of a narrow gauge branch line of the Sudan Railways.
Routes
Babanusa-Wau Railway - A branch line of the Sudan Railways from the town of Babanusa to Wau.
Statistics
total: 248 km (154 mi), all 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge.
See also
References
Notes
- ^ a b United Nations Mission in Sudan Archived 16 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine, 27 January 2008
- ^ For an overview of the railway in 1952, see "Sudan Railways," in Railroad Magazine October 1952, at pp. 36–47. The article is illustrated with black and white photos of what was then a flourishing railroad.
- ^ "Facts and Figures 2007" (PDF). Sudan Railways Corporation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
- ^ Kone, Solomane, ed. (2013). "South Sudan: An Infrastructure Action Plan; Chapter 7.4.1 Current Status of the railways network" (PDF). African Development Bank Group. p. 192.
- ^ Odhiambo, Allan (5 August 2011). "RVR targets planned Uganda-Sudan railway line". Business Daily. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
- ^ "Kenya launches new railway to reach South Sudan and Burundi". BBC News. 28 November 2013.
- ^ bonface (10 April 2015). "US$3.2bn Standard Gauge Railway line to connect Uganda and S.Sudan". Constructionreviewonline.com. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
Further reading
- Robinson, Neil (2009). World Rail Atlas and Historical Summary. Volume 7: North, East and Central Africa. Barnsley, UK: World Rail Atlas Ltd. ISBN 978-954-92184-3-5.
External links
