The Namanve-Kampala railway line refurbishment will delay from the earlier planned date of September to December.

Uganda Railway Cooperations (URC) spokesperson, John Linnon Ssengendo, explained that they still have a big load of work to deal with.

He said by December the refurbishment of the meter gauge railway terminal at Namanve will be complete.

The 25 million Euro (over sh101b) project will also turn Namanve into a major passenger traffic terminal and will allow people to park their cars and hop onto the train to the city and vice versa, according to.

Ssengendo said as a result, a section of the Kampala-Mukono railway line will still be closed to passengers and cargo until December 2023 to enable reconstruction works.

Appearing before the Parliament Committee on Government Assurance recently, the minister of Transport and Works, Gen Edward Katumba Wamala, revealed that URC had resorted to using concrete railway sleepers to replace the metallic ones due to vandalism and that the reconstruction of the Kampala-Namanve section was expected to end by December.

The development will, however, affect an estimated 1,400 passengers who use the railway services daily.

According to the notice, the reconstruction aims at improving the railway services in the country.

Ssengendo said the Kampala-Namanve route has an average capacity of about 1,400 passengers per day.

The railway’s boarding stations are located in Kampala, Kireka, Namanve, Bweyogerere, and Namboole, with trips covering a 16.7-kilometer radius.

Ssengendo said: “Most transporters’ cargo terminates at their inland car depot in Mukono, and then it is loaded onto trucks. It is only the client of Roofings, who is bringing in steel coils, that will be affected.”

He added: “But even then, we have MV Pamba and Kawa; so, that cargo can also move on water and when it does, it is moved from Port Bell and it can be delivered.”

Ssengendo said the disrupted train services will only affect passengers who ply the Kampala-Mukono section.

He has urged residents to give away 10 meters on either side of the railway line to allow construction works to go on.