Rail Transport in Somalia

[ALittleBitItalian]

One thing that has always baffled me when I have travelled in Northern Somalia is the vacancy of a railway system. I get that the british never really invested in the North, and also were the ones to dismantle the existing train tracks in the south. But as we are slightly edging our 60th anniversary of nationhood (even though, i get that a huge chunk of these years has sadly been lost in war & conflict), and that the situation is looking slightly more optimistic, maybe it should be the time to invest into our nation's infrastructure? Highway and roads can always be established, but a consistent and reliant network of train tracks will not only take time and patience, but will also deliver big proportions of wealth and success. In both freight-trains, and collective transport.

 

[waraabe]

kkkk before railways can be built a gov has to be built

 

[oday1kenobi]

Why focus on railways now when our current road network is non-existent? Besides, rail infrastructure is bloody expensive.

 

[ALittleBitItalian]

kkkk before railways can be built a gov has to be built

I get that argument a lot when i bring up this question. However, I must say that this assumption is inconclusive at best. If we are able to build ship ports, have the turkish and chinese come and help us on many fronts, why not invest a bit in transportation? It will obviously be a good longterm investment, but I must agree with you in one part about the integrity and will from our Excellency and his government.

 

[ALittleBitItalian]

Why focus on railways now when our current road network is non-existent? Besides, rail infrastructure is bloody expensive.

As i said before roadwork is easy to establish at fast pace, however the measurement of transporting goods and such are much better with a good, sufficient railway system. This doesn't mean that highway and roads should be put on the backburner, but our number one priority should be railway. Roadwork can always run parallel to railways

 

[DRACO]

That's down to the none existence of strong institutions to create Business Friendly enviroment like Not having to pay bribes , proper laws , knowing the exact Taxes to be paid + ease/speed of starting up a business etc.. Somaliland is changing now , institutions are being strengthened + proper laws&Taxes being established with help from a British law firm.

 

[ALittleBitItalian]

That's down to the none existence of strong institutions to create Business Friendly enviroment like Not having to pay bribes , proper laws , knowing the exact Taxes to be paid + ease/speed of starting up a business etc.. Somaliland is changing now , institutions are being strengthened + proper laws&Taxes being established with help from a British law firm.

Let's hope these institutions plans get to fruition, so a railway system can be adopted

 

[sgfrmtheblock]

Most railways started because of the industrial revolution, Indians got their railway because it benefitted the British.

We never had an industrial era so setting it up purely for travel/smaller transport could be a thing for the future.

When we build good ports we can start to compete with Ethiopia's ports in Djibouti and routes into central Africa.