Rail transport in South Sudan

Railway network of Sudan and South Sudan

On the passenger train that used to go to Wau

The rail transport in South Sudan currently consists only of the southern section of the railway line Babanusa-Wau .

status

The track was built from 1958 to 1962, in the American Civil War of Southern Sudan interrupted with the help of UN rebuilt technologies more and is again passable since of 2010.

See main article Babanusa – Wau railway line

The section in South Sudan is 248 km long and single lane. It is not known whether it is actually used.

plans

There were plans to build a railway network and connect it to the existing railway networks in Kenya and Uganda . As early as 2004, the German entrepreneur Klaus Thormählen proposed a corresponding 4100 km long single-track railway line. In doing so, standard gauge should be used as a basis, with no compatibility with all adjacent railway networks . Income from the oil business will serve as security for the financing. A precise route is defined. The first construction phase of approx. 1000 km connects to the Uganda Railway in Kenya and connects the cities of Rongai (northwest of Nairobi) with Juba in South Sudan. It was planned that at least this section should go into operation until independence.

Another project that has been discussed is to build a 1,028 km long railway line along the White Nile from Juba to Pakwach , where the line would meet the railway from Uganda . This project was replaced by an agreement between the governments of Sudan and Uganda dated August 28, 2008, which provided for a 920 km long route from Wau via Juba to Gulu in Uganda.

In view of the desolate condition of the adjoining railways in Uganda and Kenya, as well as the costs of the projects in relation to the poverty of South Sudan, it seems unlikely that they will be realized soon.