Tanzania and Uganda to go electric in railway line project

Uganda and Tanzania have decided to have their new Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) lines built with electric capability, as they plan to eventually upgrade to electric trains when energy supply needs are eventually met, a vast difference from Kenya’s diesel fuelled trains.

Uganda

Uganda’s SGR project co-ordinator Kasingye Kyamugamba said that they have chosen to have an electric element incorporated in their project because, “We have been assured of adequate power from the ongoing energy projects at Karuma and Isimba. This decision was also based on the costing factor, given that after completion, the long-term costs of operation and maintenance will be cheaper than diesel.”

Electric railroads depend on the availability of electricity in a region, currently the supply is inadequate. The country’s current peak power system demand stands at 500MW against an installed generation capacity of 851.5MW, and total power generation stands at 535MW. Uganda expects its power generation to reach 1,500MW in 2019, after the two dams inject an additional 783MW — Karuma at 600MW and Isimba Hydropower at 183MW into the national grid.

Read: Female Drivers at the helm of Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) maiden voyage

Uganda is also struggling with funding, currently locked in talks to convince China’s Exim Bank to release $2.3 billion (Shs8 trillion) for construction of a 273km SGR line running from Malaba to Kampala. The tender for construction was awarded to China Harbour Engineering Corporation (CHEC) in 2014. Works were expected to last 42 months. Beijing, has for months been very guarded on financing the railway from Nairobi to Kampala and has been shuttling back and forth with economic calculations, boxed Uganda and Kenya into a tight corner, forcing them to agree, guarantee and ensure timely construction of the connecting routes for the railway to run seamlessly from Mombasa to Kampala.

The construction of the Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya by the Chinese concessional loan is currently undertaken by the China-Kenya contractors. Photo: KBC

The entire SGR project in Uganda is expected to cost $12.8 billion (Shs46 trillion) making it the most expensive infrastructure project in Uganda’s history.

Uganda’s new line will have much higher associated costs than the railway lines in Ethiopia and Djibouti. Uganda SGR officials said the variances are due to factors like distance from the port, terrain in addition to labour and land compensation costs.

Read: Ethiopia opens Sub-Saharan Africa’s first modern light-rail system

“Cost variances are due to unique project needs and ground conditions for infrastructure set up,” said Eng. Daniel Kabogoza, the Senior Civil Engineer in charge of Design.

Also considered is the class of the project, with Uganda’s Class one, with electrical trains, Kenya’s currently with diesel engines, and Ethiopia’s Class 2, with a mixture of diesel and electrical engines.

Likewise, the Ugandan trains will carry significantly heavier loads than those in Ethiopia as well.

Tanzania

Tanzania has started building the 300km Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from the Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam to Morogoro, which will then be extended to Port Mwanza on Lake Victoria to link Uganda. Construction of the multi-billion railway line was launched on Wednesday by Tanzanian president John Pombe Magufuli. In attendance, on behalf of Uganda, was the Charge d’Affaires at Uganda’s High Commission, Mr Oscar Edule, who is currently holding forte, pending new High Commissioner Richard Kabonero’s assuming office.

The Light Rail System opened on Sunday Photo: ethiopiavid

“Our main focus is to improve the infrastructure sector, something which will in turn improve other sectors,” Mr Magufuli remarked at the ceremony held at Pugu Railway Station in Dar-es-Salaam.

In February, Tanzania awarded Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi and Portuguese firm Mota-Engil the billion-dollar contract for the 205km first phase of the Dar es Salaam to Morogoro line expected to be completed by October 2019.  The SGR construction will be at a much lower cost at $5 million (Shs17b) per kilometre compared to Uganda’s $8.4 million (about Shs30 billion) per km.

This development will put the spotlight on plans which should have seen Uganda either renovating the run-down Port Bell in Luzira or starting work on the proposed Greenfield Bukasa Port in Kirinya, Wakiso District. The Bukasa option has been estimated to cost Shs486 billion ($180 million) and if linked with the railway line from Tanzania, would become a part of both the Southern and Central transport corridors, respectively.

Like Uganda its power generation needs to increase to sustain the project. Tanzania’s power generation capacity currently stands at about 1,500 MW, against a demand of 1,352 MW. The country is banking on the development of its vast gas finds into electricity to increase its capacity and also provide a dedicated electric line for the SGR network, once completed.

The electric railway has been designed to support a maximum speed of 160km/h for passenger trains and 120km/h for freight. It is expected to be complete within 30 months. Dar es Salaam is Tanzania’s principal port with a rated capacity of 4.1 million down weight tonnage (dwt) dry cargo and six million dwt bulk liquid cargo.

Kenya

Kenya’s SGR was officially flagged off in May this year. The 472- kilometre project had initially been set for completion in December 2013. Kenya announced that its newly launched SGR will have an electric line installed in the year 2021. A single electric line costs approximately $480m which is approximately 15 per cent of the money already spent on the construction of the 472km Mombasa-Nairobi line.

“We didn’t want to construct an electric line since we don’t have a dependable source of electricity. So, we had to construct a diesel locomotive line but with a capability of upgrading it,” said Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia.

On the Kenyan side—the line (120km) running from Nairobi to Naivasha in Kenya is expected to cost$1.7 billion (Shs6 trillion), from Naivasha to Kisumu port (266km), the cost estimate stands at $3.6 billion (Shs13 trillion), while the 107km line connecting to Malaba on the Uganda-Kenya border will cost $1.7 billion (Shs6 trillion).

The NCIP involves Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and South Sudan. Tanzania is not a member of the project, and is developing its rail on its own as part of improving connectivity in the East African region.

When completed, goods will be able to move from Mombasa to Kampala in 24 hours, up from 12 days, while the trains will haul up to 4,000 tons, compared to about 800 tons today. Overall the project that will link East Africa making travel and trade easier will have immense economic implications and many challenges and barriers. However once the project is completed the returns on investment for all countries will be unsurpassable.