KYAMBOGO UNIVERSITY
P.O.BOX 1, KYAMBOGO-KAMPALA, UGANDA
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND BUILDING ENGINEERING
RAILWAY AND HARBOUR TOUR REPORT
GROUGP DETAIL
S/N NAME REG. No. SIGNATURE
1 LAPYEM STEPHEN 17/U/16194/ECE/PE
2 OGIK SUNDAY 17/U/16229/ECE/PE
3 AKENA WALTER 17/U/18517/ECE/PE
4 KINYERA MOSES 17/U/16089/ECD/PD
5 KOMAKECH RICHARD CEASAR 18/U/ECD/18460/GV
6 KALAMOI JOHN PAUL KIMONG 17/U/16181/ECE/PE
7 OKELLO LEE 16/U/14186/ECE/PE
8 MAIKU FRANCIS 18/U/ECW/18322/WK
D
9 ISINGOMA JULIUS 18/U/ECW/21356/WK
D
10 ANENA JOAN AGATHA 17/U/18435/ECE/PE
GUIDED TOUR REPORT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND
BUILDING ENGINEERING IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING IN CIVIL AND BUILDING
ENGINEERING OF KYAMBOGO UNIVERSITY
SUBMISSION DATE: 16th NOVEMBER 2020
APPROVAL.
This Tour report has been submitted for marking with my approval as the Course Supervisor.
SIGNATURE: ……………………………………. DATE……………………………
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ENG. TUMWESIGYE ROBERT.
DECLARATION
We declare that the information provided in this report is our own work produced with first-
hand information obtained during the tour to Uganda Railways Kampala station and Port Bell
by the group members.
S/N NAME REG. No. SIGNATURE
1 LAPYEM STEPHEN 17/U/16194/ECE/PE
2 OGIK SUNDAY 17/U/16229/ECE/PE
3 AKENA WALTER 17/U/18517/ECE/PE
4 KINYERA MOSES 17/U/16089/ECD/PD
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5 KOMAKECH RICHARD 18/U/ECD/18460/GV
CEASAR
6 KALAMOI JOHN PAUL 17/U/16181/ECE/PE
KIMONG
7 OKELLO LEE 16/U/14186/ECE/PE
8 MAIKU FRANCIS 18/U/ECW/18322/WK
D
9 ISINGOMA JULIUS 18/U/ECW/21356/WK
D
10 ANENA JOAN AGATHA 17/U/18435/ECE/PE
DEDICATION
We dedicate this report to our loving parents for their financial and parental support which
have enabled us to get this far with education, the administration of Kyambogo University for
providing internet which eased the surfing and research, the course Lecturer for his guidance
and time, fellow course mates for guidance and correction. And above all, the almighty God
for spiritual guidance, life, knowledge and wisdom which has helped us to attain this
milestone.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to thank the Almighty God for the gift of life, course Lecture, Mr.
Tumwesigye Robert for his guidance. Mr. Robert’s passionate will to be with us in times of
need for guidance during this course and the tour has been amazing.
We would also like to thank the management of the Uganda Railways Corporation and
Portbel for the time they accorded us during the tour.
Wish to acknowledge the entire administration of Kyambogo University for the establishing
course of Civil and Building engineering, the department of Civil and Building engineering
for including the project development skills as the course unit, it has really helped to transfer
theory knowledge into practical works and this has continuously equipped us with skills and
experience for the world of work. Special thanks to the Dean Faculty of engineering and the
head of department Civil and Building engineering for their educational support by
teaching/lecturer system has been practical. We humbly wish to thank the year four students
and our classmates for their time, guidance, enthusiasm towards our education and project
work, love and co-operation which helped us to finish this project work successfully. Most
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sincerely, we wish to thank the Almighty God for being our guide, hope, strength and for
enabling us to come this far.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.
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CHAPTER ONE:
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
Kyambogo University’s Department of Civil Offers Railways, harbour and Airport as a
course unit contributing to the requirements for the award of Bachelor of Engineering in Civil
and Building at the University. For completion of the course, a study tour to the Uganda
Railways Corporation Headquarters on plot 46, Nasser Road, Kampala, was organized by the
University for Fourth year students of Civil and Building Engineering 2019/2020 on 5 th and
6th March 2020.The Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) is a Corporate Organisation
reporting to the Ministry of Works and Transport. It was established under the mandate of the
Uganda Railways Corporation Act. Cap331 to carry out Railway, Marine and Road services
both in and outside Uganda for the Carriage of Goods and Passengers. Its vision is to provide
a modern, safe and sustainably efficient high capacity passenger and freight railway system
for both Uganda and the region
1.2 MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY TOUR
The main objective of this study tour was to expose the students to the real world of Railways
and Harbour Engineering in relation to theoretical knowledge provided in class during the
course lectures.
1.3 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT
a) To carry out a field visit to the Railway and Harbour (Port Bell) stations.
b) To carry out visual inspection and measurements at the railway and harbour station.
c) To attend the guides and ask question from the staff at the railway and harbour
station.
d) To take photos to aid during report writing and produce the guided tour report in a
group of 10 students.
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CHAPTER TWO:
RAILWAY.
2.1 INTRODUCTION.
Construction of the Uganda Railway track began at the port city of Mombasa in British East
Africa in 1890 and was completed in 1929. Uganda Railway is a 1,000 mm (3 ft 33⁄8 in) meter
gauge. The line links the interiors of Uganda and Kenya with the Indian Ocean at Mombasa
in Kenya. During its construction, 2,498 workers died. The Uganda Railway, colloquially
known as the Lunatic Express or the Lunatic Line
LOCOMOTIVE
The Uganda Railway is a diesel locomotive. That means the prime mover is a diesel engine
Figure 1: Showing Diesel Locomotive
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RAILWAY TRACK.
Track or permanent way is the railroad on which trains run. It consists of 2 parallel rails
fastened to sleepers with a distance of 1000mm between them. The sleepers are embedded in
a layer of ballast of specified thickness spread over level ground known as formation. The
formation is made of well compacted material on a firm subgrade.
COMPONENTS OF RAILWAY TRACK
1. Railway Track Gauge
Gauge is defined as the minimum distance between two rails. In European countries,
the gauge is measured between the inner faces of the two rails at a point 14 mm below
the top of the rail. In the field study we found out that the Uganda Railway
Cooperation also consider the same mode of measurements. We confirmed that it was
a 1,000 mm (3 ft 33⁄8 in) meter gauge.
Figure 2: Measurement of gauge
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2. Rails
Rails are the members of the track laid in two parallel lines to provide an unchanging,
continuous, and level surface for the movement of trains. To be able to withstand
stresses, they are made of high-carbon steel.
The functions of rails are;
Provide a continuous and level surface for the movement of trains.
Provide a pathway which is smooth and has very little friction.
Serve as a lateral guide for the wheels.
Bear the stresses developed due to vertical loads transmitted to them
Transmit the load to a large area of the formation through sleepers and the ballast
3. Sleepers
Sleepers are the transverse ties that are laid to support the rails. The Uganda railway
track has wooden and steel trough sleepers.
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The following are the Functions of Sleepers
Hold rails in their correct gauge and alignment
Gives a firm and even support to the rails
Transfer loads evenly from the rails to a wider area of the ballast
Absorb the blows and vibrations caused by moving loads
Providing longitudinal and lateral stability to the permanent way
Providing the means to rectify the track geometry during their service life.
4. Ballast
It is a layer of broken stones, gravel, marram, or any other granular material placed
and packed below and around sleepers.
Below are the functions of ballast;
Provides a level and hard bed for the sleepers to rest on.
Holds the sleepers in position during the passage of trains.
Transfers & distributes load from the sleepers to a large area of the formation.
Provides elasticity and resilience to the track for proper riding comfort.
Provides the necessary resistance to the track for longitudinal and lateral stability.
Provides effective drainage to the track.
Provides an effective means of maintaining the level and alignment of the track.
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