KAMPALA, Uganda, August 11, 2026/APO Group/ —
Parliament’s Committee on Physical Infrastructure has demanded that Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) account for 81 wagons reportedly sold as scrap for Shs3.7 billion.
The committee chaired by Hon. Mwine Mpaka raised the concerns during an on spot inspection of URC’s headquarters on Tuesday, 11 August 2026.
The visit to the URC offices are part of the committee’s ongoing inquiry into the corporation’s operations, assets, expenditure and procurement. The probe comes ahead of the planned allocation of resources for the recovery of the corporation.
Mpaka questioned the management of URC over the disposal of railway assets saying the committee had established that 81 wagons had been sold off as scrap adding that they had learnt of an advertisement sale of for additional wagons.
“We have come across another advert of wagons you want to sell in Tanzania, and you had not told us,” ,” Mpaka said.
Mpaka said the inspection was intended to establish the state of URC’s assets and expenditure before Parliament considers allocating additional resources to the corporation.
The scrutiny comes as URC seeks sustained government funding to rebuild its operations after years of inadequate investment, ageing equipment and shortages of specialised railway personnel.
The 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 now requires support of over 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.
But MPs questioned whether Ugandans should wait five years before seeing significant improvements in railway services.
Bunyole West County MP, Hon. James Waluswaka challenged the proposed recovery timeline saying the corporation 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.
He questioned whether the procurement of new locomotives can be accelerated given the urgency of restoring an efficient railway system.
Kajuna said the manufacturing lead time for a new locomotive is about 2.3 years after signing a contract because the equipment has to be manufactured, tested and delivered.
The committee also revisited concerns over locomotives purchased during the 10th Parliament which had reportedly failed to operate effectively on Uganda’s metre-gauge railway.
Kajuna disputed suggestions that the locomotives were incompatible with the railway. He said their longer design created difficulties at a turning point affected by construction works for a flyover.
Kajuna added that the URC faces a shortage of specialised railway personnel.
“We don’t have a signalling and telecommunications engineer. We don’t have an electrical engineer in the URC,” he said.
He attributed the skills gap partly to the suspension of railway staff training from the 1990s, when government was pursuing plans to concession the railway.
He said URC is now recruiting specialised staff and plans to establish a railway training institute under an African Development Bank-supported project.
