#LAKEVICTORIA FERRIES RESUME OPERATIONS TO LINK #UGANDA TO CENTRAL RAIL CORRIDOR
(Posted 29th June 2018)
(MV Kaawa seen here in a state of disrepair at Port Bell, Kampala’s lakeside harbour)
After a break of a decade will railferries once again begin to ply the route between the Tanzanian port of Mwanza and Port Bell in Uganda.
It was learned that this development is part of a broader agreement between the two governments to use the Central Corridor as a second route to and from the Indian Ocean.
MV Umoja has already started operations from Mwanza to Port Bell, able to carry as many as 22 rail wagons, which translates into upto 40 containers on each trip. Information received says the ferry operator intends to run as many as 26 return trips a month.
Uganda is planning to relaunch operations of the refurbished MV Kaawa, which lay idle after repairs for some years as former rail operator Rift Valley Railways showed no interest in resuming the ferry route as they struggled to keep their rail operation going between Kampala and Mombasa. No date has however been set by Uganda when MV Kaawa will resume services.
Special cargo rates have been put on the market for shipments from the port of Dar es Salaam to Mwanza and on to Port Bell, where containers are then loaded on trucks for their final leg. The Uganda Railways Corporation has some time ago stated that they will refurbish the rail line from Port Bell to Kampala but this is yet to take off.
