Tororo-Gulu railway line completion date pushed to October

Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) has said completion of the Tororo–Gulu railway line, which was planned for last month, has been pushed to October 2026.

In an update shared on Tuesday, URC said progress on the 375-kilometre line is accelerating, with construction activities now active in multiple sections.

“The 375km track from Tororo to Gulu is rolling up real fast, with the earth works already in Gulu, and the steel and gravel closing in at an equally fast pace.”

“February was the set completion date. That was moved up to October 2026. In a few months, we shall be ready to move,” the corporation said.

The Tororo–Gulu line forms part of Uganda’s metre-gauge railway network, which connects to Kenya’s rail system and the port of Mombasa. The route runs through Mbale, Soroti and Lira, linking eastern and northern Uganda and opening access to regional markets. 

The project is a key component of the wider Northern Corridor, which supports trade between Uganda and neighbouring countries including Rwanda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Last weekend, President Yoweri Museveni reaffirmed the importance of the line while in Kisumu, Kenya, where he joined President William Ruto to launch construction of the Naivasha–Kisumu–Malaba Standard Gauge Railway extension. 

He said Uganda is fast-tracking key rail links, including Tororo–Gulu, to ensure seamless connectivity from Mombasa across the region.

The rehabilitation of the Tororo–Gulu metre-gauge railway was launched in 2020 at an estimated cost of about $46.7 million, with financial support from the European Union and other partners. 

The line is part of broader efforts to revive Uganda’s ageing railway system. The African Development Bank has also committed about $301 million to rehabilitate other sections of the metre-gauge network to improve efficiency and reduce transport costs. 

The project has faced several challenges, including procurement concerns, funding constraints and coordination issues. Lawmakers have previously raised questions over contracts linked to the railway works, while delays in financing have slowed implementation in some phases. 

More broadly, railway development in Uganda has also been affected by land acquisition challenges, limited budget releases and shifting priorities between metre-gauge rehabilitation and the more expensive standard gauge railway project. 

The Tororo–Gulu line itself has a long history of neglect, having been largely inactive for decades before recent rehabilitation efforts began.