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  • East African proposals

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Discussion about railroad topics everywhere outside of Canada and the United States.

Moderators: Komachi, David Benton

 #150700  by george matthews
 
http://allafrica.com/stories/200507240026.html

A Sh45.7 million US$593,450) feasibility study on a proposed railway line to link the Great Lakes states could soon be commissioned.
A yet-to-be identified firm of consultants will undertake the study to establish the project's economic viability.
The target countries include Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia, which are all landlocked.
The proposed line will connect the three countries with East and Southern Africa countries.
A report presented to the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) meeting in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, was based on information from Comesa and extracts from discussions with officials of Kenya Railways Corporation. This another rather grandiose sounding project like a similar proposal for Sudan. But if they are both built there is going to be a problem with East Africa's metre gauge and the other countries' Cape Gauge lines. As Cape Gauge is the predominant gauge in southern Africa that ought to prevail.
Of course, war needs to end first.

 #150811  by David Benton
 
was it Cecil Rhodes who dreamt of a capetown to cairo railway , or have i read too many Wilbur Smith books ?
Even if this railway was built , that would be a long way from reality , in terms of operation , if not actual track . ( i think that would only leave a gap in sudan ? )

 #150814  by george matthews
 
David Benton wrote:was it Cecil Rhodes who dreamt of a capetown to cairo railway , or have i read too many Wilbur Smith books ?
Even if this railway was built, that would be a long way from reality, in terms of operation, if not actual track. ( i think that would only leave a gap in sudan ? )
Rhodes was an imperialist romantic monster. How could a Cape to Cairo Railway have paid?

Another project is to join southern Sudan to East Africa. So, eventually there might be a network covering north and south. But I can't see who will pay for these projects, even if the oil industry does develop in Sudan.