MPs demand account of 81 URC wagons sold as scrap

Parliament’s Committee on Physical Infrastructure has demanded that Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) account for 81 railway wagons reportedly sold as scrap for Shs3.7 billion. Ugandatravel guide

The committee, chaired by  Mwine Mpaka, raised the concerns on Tuesday, 11 August 2026, during an on-site inspection of URC headquarters as part of its ongoing inquiry into the corporation’s operations, assets, expenditure and procurement.

The inquiry comes ahead of Parliament’s consideration of additional resources to support the recovery and revitalisation of URC.

Mpaka questioned URC management over the disposal of railway assets, saying the committee had established that 81 wagons had been sold as scrap. He said MPs had also come across an advertisement for the sale of additional wagons in Tanzania, which had not been brought to the committee’s attention.

“We have come across another advert of wagons you want to sell in Tanzania, and you had not told us,” Mpaka said.

The committee chairman said the inspection was intended to establish the condition of URC’s assets and assess its expenditure before Parliament considers allocating additional resources to the corporation.

The scrutiny comes as URC seeks sustained government funding to rebuild its operations following years of inadequate investment, ageing equipment and a shortage of specialised railway personnel.

URC Managing Director Benon Kajuna told MPs that the corporation currently has only four mainline locomotives available for cargo operations, while its Kampala–Mukono passenger service operates with five coaches.

Kajuna said URC requires more than Shs100 billion annually for five years to stabilise its operations.

The corporation is also pursuing the procurement of 10 new locomotives and 100 flat wagons with support from the African Development Bank, alongside major rehabilitation of the railway line between Mombasa and Kampala.

However, MPs questioned whether Ugandans should wait five years before seeing significant improvements in railway services.

Bunyole West County MP  James Waluswaka challenged the proposed recovery timeline, arguing that URC needed to deliver results more quickly.

“When you talk about five years, that means we shall be serving the lunch at dinner time,” Waluswaka said.

Waluswaka also questioned whether the procurement of new locomotives could be accelerated given the urgency of restoring an efficient and reliable railway system.

Kajuna explained that the manufacturing lead time for a new locomotive is about 2.3 years after a contract is signed because the equipment must be manufactured, tested and delivered.

The committee also revisited concerns over locomotives purchased during the 10th Parliament that had reportedly failed to operate effectively on Uganda’s metre-gauge railway. Ugandatravel guide

Kajuna disputed suggestions that the locomotives were incompatible with the railway, explaining that their longer design created difficulties at a turning point affected by construction works for a flyover.

He further highlighted a shortage of specialised personnel within URC.

“We don’t have a signalling and telecommunications engineer. We don’t have an electrical engineer in the URC,” he said.

Kajuna attributed the skills gap partly to the suspension of railway staff training in the 1990s, when the government was pursuing plans to concession the railway.

He said URC is now recruiting specialised personnel and plans to establish a railway training institute under an African Development Bank-supported project.

The committee’s inquiry is expected to inform Parliament’s assessment of URC’s funding needs and the measures required to restore the corporation’s capacity to provide efficient passenger and freight railway services.

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