Rail Transport In South Sudan
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South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...
does not have an extensive rail system. The 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 narrow-gauge (), single-track line that connects Babonosa (Sudan) with the city of Wau in South Sudan. The line was left in poor condition after the
Second Sudanese Civil War The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement, Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil Wa ...
after several parts of it were mined; the line was fully rehabilitated with
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
funds.United Nations Mission in Sudan
, 27 January 2008


History


Construction and downturn

The Sudan Railways network underwent its final spurt of railway construction in the 1950s. It included an extension of the western line to Nyala (1959) in Darfur Province and of a southwesterly branch to Wau (1961), southern Sudan's second largest city, located in the province of Bahr el Ghazal. This essentially completed the Sudan Railways network, which in 1990, amounted to a total of about 4800 route km. The line from Babanosa to Wau was built between 1959 and 1961, by Rahul Khanna. Sources in the Sudan suggested that construction of a new southern extension railway would begin in January 2006, with an estimated cost of $USD 2 billion. Costello Garang, outgoing Sudanese People's Liberation Movement/Army Commissioner for International Co-operation is quoted by the East African Standard (Nairobi) saying that the necessary "crucial financial deal" has been concluded. A line was to be built from the present railhead, Waw, first south-eastwards to Juba (about 500 km), hence eastwards via
Torit Torit is a city of Eastern Equatoria State in South Sudan. History On 18 August 1955, the Equatoria Corps mutinied at Torit, starting the First Sudanese Civil War. In 1964 the military government in Khartoum closed "all the Christian miss ...
to the Kenyan border near Kapoeta (a further 250 km). This would be known as the Sudan-East Africa Railway, the intention being to extend eventually by way of Lokichoggio and Rongai to join the main
Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...
-
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route "pending a decision from the Kenyan authorities." It was envisaged that the project would be undertaken by Thormaehlen Holdings of Germany. According to Garang, who was to head the New Sudan Foundation as President and Chief Executive, a line would be constructed in the first instance from Juba southwards along the White Nile to connect with the Ugandan system at Pakwach, about 150 km, where freight will be transshipped, as
Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
uses the gauge unlike Sudan's gauge. 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 Aweil accompanied by large numbers of troops and militia, causing great disruption to civilians and humanitarian aid organisations along the railway line. The line to Wau was fully rehabilitated with
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
funds and later reopened in 2010.


Independence

The following year, the people of
South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...
voted for independence in the 2011 referendum, and later declared its independence from
Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...
. The city of Wau would be part of South Sudan, and become on the only rail station in the country. South Sudan, which broke from the north, stated its intentions to find new trade routes for its oil as well as goods and services to cut its reliance on northern facilities. On 5 August, 2011, Rift Valley Railways (RVR), a subsidiary owned by
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
-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. 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
South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...
,
DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
and
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, becoming Kenya's biggest infrastructure project since independence 50 years ago. After the country finishes the Nairobi section in 2017, work would be extended through
Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
, with branch lines west to Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of Congo, south through
Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...
to
Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...
and north to
South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...
. 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.


Stations and routes

Wau railway station is the terminus of a
narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...
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:'' , all gauge.


See also

* Economy of South Sudan * Transport in South Sudan


References


Notes


Further reading

*


External links


UN Map

UNHCR Atlas Map
{{Africa topic, Rail transport in 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in South Sudan