Transportation
How Overlooked Colonial Railways Could Revolutionize Transportation in Africa
Resurrecting relics of imperial rule is an unorthodox transit-development policy. But Africa's "secondary cities" are set to benefit.
A somewhat surprising transportation policy is gaining steam across Africa: The rehabilitation of old colonial-era railways.
Over 220 miles of the Uganda-Kenya railway, which broke ground in 1896, will be revitalized by 2017. Ethiopia, meanwhile, is expected to reopen its 450 mile colonial-era rail line in early 2016. Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is also getting into the mix. The West African nation invested $166 million to get old trains back up and running between Lagos, a megacity of over 20 million people, and Kano, an ancient city 700 miles to the north.