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Uganda is to begin construction of its Standard Gauge railway network in April 2026.
"Uganda has recently confirmed that its Standard Gauge line from Malaba/Tororo to Kampala will operate with electric traction to European standards rather than diesel traction to Chinese standards."
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This is an interesting development, Rev. Farnworth, especially in light of that during '17 of thereabouts, while riding fron Rosenhein to Munich East, I met a very interesting Ugandan gal, educated at London School of Economics, and was with the Ugandan Transport Ministry.
She was telling me about "all the great plans" they had for railways including electrification as set forth in the article you have shared here.
Needless to say, she asked me about electrification in the US. I said the only place you will find it is where there is a strong volume of passenger trains and that is in the Northeast between Boston and Washington (not quite the whole truth I realize). She then asked me about freight to which I said that in the West, the distances are so long that there was a lot of cost to maintaining the wires (showed her some photos of UP freight trains). I further shared with her that I was with a railroad that had extensive electrified lines through the Western US. Well, that railroad went out of business some thirty years ago.
So, Munich East was at hand and she was going to Frankfurt/Main, so that was that.
Roger Farnworth Member # 197595
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Thank you for the comments. It strikes me that some of the issues about maintenance that you raised may well be significant in a Ugandan context. Not least might be the risk of illicit connections made to supply lines, or the possibility of power outages which are always a risk in Uganda. Presumably the power supply would come from the power plants near Jinja?
My assumption would be that diesel-power is a much simpler prospect than electrical-power. The power source being within the engine rather than dependent on a continuous external supply.
Best wishes and Christmas greetings.
Roger
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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Reverend, had you also been on that train with me,, and met this gal, I think you would have been impressed by her as well.
Of course, I would guess she was largely "insulated" from the politics, and surely the corruption inherent with electrifying, let alone just building, the new railway. If the entire project were in the hands of people like her, then I'd say it would the better, but we know the political realities inherent in such a project especially in a place like Uganda.
Of course, while I've been on four continents in this life, Africa is not amongst them. Your past postings suggest you served Her Majesty's Church in one capacity or the other there.
"Big Daddy" may be gone, but some of his ways surely live on.
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