george matthews wrote:building a SG line from Kampala via Pakwach in Uganda to the southern capital might be a possible plan. That would give them contact with Mombasa.
Broadly that is one of the plans floating around East Africa at the moment. One or both of the new standard gauge lines being built or scheduled to be built in Kenya is supposed to extend to Juba, but I can't remember whether the one currently being built from Mombasa will do so, or whether it is only the proposed line from the new Lamu port which forms part of LAPSSET. The maps I've seen of LAPSSET suggest that the route to Juba will not go through Pakwach in Uganda but will go through Kenya via Baringo, Lodwar and Lokichoggio.
Last time I was in Pakwach was around 1997. Interesting little place but we couldn't hang around as both the LRA and ADF were active in the area at the time (we passed a bus which was still smouldering from an ambush), and it also wasn't the sort of place where you wanted to take photos of infrastructure as the security forces were jumpy about things like that.
I've been in Wau more recently, a few years ago. The line had been cut when the River Lol bridge near Aweil was blown during the civil war, but a few trains ran when it was repaired in 2010 a few years after the peace agreement was signed in 2005, mainly bringing southern Sudanese returning to the south around the time of Independence in 2011. Before the bridge was blown, the government used to use the railway to resupply their beleaguered garrison in Wau. Once or twice a year trains would go at walking pace loaded with supplies and ammunition, with close protection from huge numbers of regular soldiers often moving on foot while engineers repaired the sabotaged track as they moved, but also with hordes of militia mounted on horseback. The militia were unpaid - their salary was whatever they could loot, including slaves. They would sweep ahead of the trains cutting a swathe through the countryside, killing and looting all in their path. Everyone within 20 or 30 km of the railway line would flee. Even the UN and international aid agencies used to evacuate their staff when they heard a train was on the way.
I've posted a few photos:
http://www.friendsoftherail.com/forum/v ... 147&t=8779" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.friendsoftherail.com/forum/v ... 147&t=8731" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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http://www.friendsoftherail.com/forum/v ... 47&t=12550" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;