Uganda Railways Corporation
The Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) was the parastatal railway of Uganda. It was formed after the breakup of the East African Railways Corporation (EARC) in 1977 when it took over the Ugandan part of the East African railways.
URC’s system was rooted in the British colonial 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge Uganda Railway that was transformed after World War I into the EARC. Its operation after the demise of the EARC had been hampered by civil war and inefficient management in Uganda. In 1989, government soldiers massacred sixty civilians at Mukura railway station.
Recently prospects for the URC have improved. Uganda Railways were joint recipients of the 2001 Worldaware Business Award for "assisting economic and social development through the provision of appropriate, sustainable and environmentally complementary transport infrastructure". The Uganda Railways Update Report gives details of management improvement.
In 2005, Rift Valley Railways Consortium from South Africa was awarded a concession to manage URC and Kenya Railways RVRC was scheduled to take over operations on 1 August 2006. On 28 July 2006, the East African Standard reported that the planned take-over was postponed to 1 November 2006. This operational take-over took place in November and was scheduled to last for 25 years.
The 2007–08 Kenyan crisis included destructive riots that blocked and partly destroyed the rail system between Kenya and Uganda, leading to economic difficulties in supply for Uganda. Further, destruction and loss of income led to significant financial losses. Criticized for a drop in freight traffic, Rift Valley Railways Consortium pointed to the poor condition of the railway infrastructure and the damage done by protesters during the 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis.
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