Kenya Railways and Uganda Railways Corporations have partnered to develop capacity for the railway sector through infrastructure and curriculum development. This partnership is aimed at establishing training and certification standards for the regional workforce which will ensure efficiency in rail transport across the two countries.

The initiative will see students from Uganda and their Kenyan counterparts undertake various railway courses and gain requisite experience to work in the rail transport sector at the Railway Training Institute and the Marine Campus in Kisumu.

”When the rail transport sector was at its peak, the Railway Training Institute played an important role in ensuring there was enough human resource to support the sector by facilitating operations. With the developments taking place in the rail sector in Kenya today, we are confident that we have the capacity to contribute to the sector through creation of requisite manpower,” said Mr. Phillip Mainga during an inspection tour by the Transport Cabinet Secretary Mr. James Macharia.

Kenya and Uganda are currently undertaking initiatives to revive the rail transport sector. This entail construction of the Standard Gauge Railway line from Mombasa to Suswa for Kenya; and revitalization of the over a century old Metre Gauge Railway line which served both countries efficiently for many years. Uganda too is the initial stages of construction of a Standard Gauge Railway line.

This initiative by the Railway Training Institute will see the trainees gain skills in railway construction, management and operation. The current workforce who are engaged on the Standard Gauge Railway operations undertook their training at the Institute. The Marine Campus will to a great extent create man power for the water transport sector where Kenya Raiwlays has a presence on Lake Victoria via the Mv Uhuru Vessel.

The Marine School in Kisumu also owned by Kenya Railways hasn’t been left behind, having launched its new ultramodern training facility on 4th March, 2021 is set to officially open its doors to students come May, 2021. The new marine school will offer a major contribution to human resource capacity building in the Marine sector.

Speaking to the editorial team during the launching ceremony, Director of the Railway Training Institute, Milly Kiziili said that the Marine School has the capacity to train up to 1,000 students per semester, a remarkable rise from the previous capacity of 100 students per semester. The school is accredited by Kenya Maritime Authority(KMA) and has adopted the KMA syllabus towards achievement of high priority goals, to equip and certify Lake Victoria vessel operators with skills and competencies in safety, protection, and preservation of marine environment.