The railway system would consist of four major sections: ; Malaba–Kampala Section Also referred as the Eastern Line, would stretch from the border with Kenya at Malaba, through Tororo and Jinja, to end at Kampala, the capital and largest city in Uganda. The total distance of this section is approximately. ; Tororo–Gulu Section Also referred to as the Northern Line, would extend from Tororo, and go through Mbale and Lira to Gulu, a distance of approximately. From Gulu, one spur will continue north to Elegu and on to Nimule and Juba in South Sudan. The section in Uganda, measures approximately. Another extension stretches from Gulu southwestwards through Pakwach to end at Goli at the Border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a distance of approximately. ; Kampala–Mpondwe Section This is referred to as the Western Line. It starts in Kampala and passes through Bihanga in Ibanda District, continuing on to Mpondwe at the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a distance of about. ; Bihanga–Mirama Hills Section This is also referred to as the Southwestern Line. It stretches from Bihanga, through Ibanda and Mbarara to end at Mirama Hills, at the border with Rwanda, a distance of about.
Overview
This 1435 mm railway line is intended to ease the transfer of goods between the port of Mombasa and the city of Kampala, and subsequently to Kigali in Rwanda, and to Beni in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and to Nimule and Juba in South Sudan. Goods would travel from Mombasa along the Kenya Standard Gauge Railway to Malaba, at the border with Uganda, and transfer on to this railway system. In April 2017, preliminary estimates for the entire Uganda SGR Project were quoted at USh45.6 trillion. In March 2019, during a state visit to Kenya, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and his host, President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, jointly, publicly committed to extend the Standard Gauge Railway to Kampala via Malaba.
Construction
The construction, is expected to be financed by the government of Uganda, using borrowed money from the Exim Bank of China. However, the loan cannot be approved by the lender until Kenya finalizes the funding arrangement for the Naivasha–Kisumu–Malaba section of its SGR. The Malaba-Kampala section, with associated train stations and railway yards, measuring, is budgeted to cost US$2.3 billion. Once funding is secured, the construction of the Eastern Line is expected to last 42 months. The entire SGR in Uganda will cost an estimated $12.8 billion. In May 2018, the EastAfrican reported that Uganda may scale back on starting major infrastructure projects, in an effort to reduce its fiscal deficit in the run-up to joining the East African Monetary Union in 2024. One of the requirements for joining the EACmonetary union is that a partner state maintains a fiscal deficit of not more than 3 per cent of GDP, for three consecutive years prior to joining the monetary union. The SGR project may be one of those delayed or scaled back.
