Kenya and Uganda Railways and Harbours (KURH) ran harbours, railways and lake and river ferries in

Kenya Colony The Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, commonly known as British Kenya or British East Africa, was part of the British Empire in Africa. It was established when the former East Africa Protectorate was transformed into a British Crown colony in ...

and the

Uganda Protectorate The Protectorate of Uganda was a protectorate of the British Empire from 1894 to 1962. In 1893 the Imperial British East Africa Company transferred its administration rights of territory consisting mainly of the Kingdom of Buganda to the Bri ...

from 26. February 1926 until 1. May 1948. It included the

Uganda Railway The Uganda Railway was a metre-gauge railway system and former British state-owned railway company. The line linked the interiors of Uganda and Kenya with the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa in Kenya. After a series of mergers and splits, the li ...

, which it extended from

Nakuru Nakuru is a city in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. It is the capital of Nakuru County, and was formerly the capital of Rift Valley Province. As of 2019, Nakuru had an urban and rural population of 570,674 inhabitants, making it the largest ...

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

in 1931. In the same year it built a branch line to Mount Kenya. After 1930 a new KURH steamer, the 860 tonne , established a fortnightly passenger and cargo service between Butiaba on Lake Albert and Kasenyi on Lake George. Sir

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

said she was ''"the best library afloat"'' and

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

called her ''"magnificence on water"''. In 1946 the 350-ton stern-wheel paddle steamer replaced the old Uganda Railway steamer on the Albert Nile river service between Pakwach in Uganda and

Nimule Nimule is a city in the southern part of South Sudan in Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria. It lies approximately , by road, southeast of Juba, the capital of South Sudan and largest city in the country. The town also lies approximately , by road, no ...

in Sudan. In 1948 the East African High Commission was formed and KURH was merged with the railways of the

Tanganyika Territory Tanganyika was a colonial territory in East Africa which was administered by the United Kingdom in various guises from 1916 to 1961. It was initially administered under a military occupation regime. From 20 July 1922, it was formalised into a L ...

. The new

East African Railways and Harbours Corporation The East African Railways and Harbours Corporation (EAR&H) is a defunct company that operated railways and harbours in East Africa from 1948 to 1977. It was formed in 1948 for the new East African High Commission by merging the Kenya and Ugand ...

provided rail, harbour and inland shipping services in all three territories until the High Commission's successor, the

East African Community The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation composed of seven countries in the Great Lakes region of East Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republics of Kenya, Burun ...

, was dissolved by its member states in 1977.

References

External links

* illustrated description of the railways of Kenya and Uganda Railway companies of Kenya Rail transport in East Africa East Africa Rail transport in Africa Water transport in Africa Ports and harbours in Africa British Kenya Uganda Protectorate Kenya–Uganda relations Railway companies of Uganda 1926 establishments in the British Empire {{Uganda-stub