$42m For Kasese Rail Repair

THE Government needs over $42m to make emergency repairs on the 332km-rail line to Kasese, reports Simon Mugenyi.Uganda Railways Corporation public relations officer Florence Muyirwa said the tracks constructed in the 1930s were too old.Muyirwa said this was why the western rail route was closed in 1998.She said, “If the trucks are to be repaired, the Government will borrow the money. This will depend on the profitability of the route after privatisation,” she said. Muyirwa said at the time of its closure, the route was no longer viable. “It was not viable for us nor for our passengers. We were operating at a loss,” she said.She said the tracks were a major cause of accidents in which the corporation would pay highly. “This would be in compensating loss of life and goods. The corporation had to do some restructuring to make it a viable business,” she said. Over 7,000 employees were retrenched when the northern and western routes were cancelled.Ends