Uganda’s first railway museum is now open
IN APRIL, Uganda opened its first railway museum to the public.
The Uganda Railway Museum at the station in Jinja City was founded by the Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda partnership with the Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) and with the support of the European Union and Sogea-Satom, a major player in the building and public works sector in Africa.
Speaking on behalf of HE Attilio Pacifici, the head of the European Union Delegation to the Uganda, Caroline Adriaensen, the head of cooperation, said that “the museum presents a great opportunity to recognise and appreciate the history of the railways in Uganda, their role in the lives of Ugandans who lived and worked along them, and their place in the country’s political and economic development.
“The EU is delighted to support the revival of this crucial infrastructure and an important piece of our collective memory in
Uganda.”
The introduction of the metregauge railways in Uganda followed the August 1895 bill in the UK Parliament, authorising the construction of a 660-mile railway from Mombasa to Kisumu on the shores of Lake Victoria, which was completed in 1901. English civil engineer Sir George Whitehouse acted as chief engineer of the Uganda Railway between 1895 and 1903.
The railway was an enormous technological and logistical achievement and became strategically and economically essential for both Uganda and Kenya.
Railways played a fundamental role in the economic colonial and postcolonial development of the country, finally reaching Kampala in 1931 before being extended to Kasese in western Uganda in 1956 and the northern line reaching Arua in 1964. However, for many years Uganda’s railways have been unused or underused, with historical artefacts and buildings falling into disrepair. There are ongoing governmental efforts to revamp railway transport, with the rehabilitation of the northern line and the construction of a standard gauge railway.
The establishment of the museum is intended to complement the Ugandan government’s efforts to highlight the importance of railway transport by reinvigorating its interest among Ugandans and enthusiasts around the world. It will offer a programme including heritage theme nights, exploring a locomotive and coach, film recollections/stories, and guided tours. Part of it has been designed with young people in mind.
Barbra Babweteera Mutambi, executive director of the CrossCultural Foundation of Uganda, which was established in 2006 to promote the appreciation of culture as vital to human development, said: “We have always advocated for the safeguarding of historic buildings, sites, and monuments but the establishment of the museum gives us a chance to demonstrate to the general public how to preserve a historic building sustainably.”