Uganda Railways Corporation (URC), in partnership with the Ministry of Works and Safe Way Right Way, has launched a safety campaign dubbed ‘Safe Tracks. Safe Roads. Safe Lives’ aimed at averting railway crashes at level crossings.
URC Managing Director Mr Benon Kajuna said the campaign targets motorists, drivers, cyclists, pedestrians and communities living and operating along the railway reserve.
‘Accidents involving trains and road users in Uganda and globally are relatively few compared with those involving other modes of transport, especially road transport; however, they can be destructive when they occur, resulting in serious injury, loss of life and property, and the damage they cause,’ Mr. Kajuna said.
He expressed concern over rising disregard for safety at crossings. ‘We have noted with concern that many road users continue to disregard instructions from the level crossing guards, pedestrians along the corridor and on the railway lines,’ Mr. Kajuna said.
As a short-term measure, he announced that all high-risk level crossings across the country will be fitted with manual barriers. ‘All high-risk level crossings across the country will be fitted with manual barriers as a short-term safety measure to strengthen control and reduce the risk of accidents, while long-term solutions are being pursued, with the automation of level crossings remaining our long-term objective,’ he added.
The campaign follows several incidents and near misses at level crossings.
On December 19, 2025, a fatal crash at the Wankoko level crossing in Bugolobi, a Kampala suburb, involving a Commuter Train Service travelling from Kampala to Namanve and a private motor vehicle claimed the life of American national Savannah Gardner.
Last month, a bus carrying students and teachers from Mwebaze High School which was coming from Mukono towards Jinja collided with a train at Namumira Level Crossing in Mukono District, resulting in one fatality and multiple injuries.
Sgt David Mwanje, the Officer in-Charge of Railway Police at Kyetume and Namumira level crossings, who was seen in a viral video flagging down the ill-fated bus, recounted the incident.
‘The train had reached and had reduced its speed because there is a stage around that place where passengers embark on the train,’ Sgt Mwanje said. He added that after realising the bus was going to hit the train, he survived by falling into a trench.
He said he had stopped taxis, trucks and boda boda riders, but the bus failed to stop. Sgt Mwanje theorized that the driver refused to stop because he had ‘some issues’, or thought that he was a policeman on a routine traffic stop that would see him penalized.
Earlier, URC Spokesperson Mr John Linnon Ssengendo said preliminary findings indicated that the bus driver failed to comply with traffic instructions at the crossing.
Authorities say the ‘Safe Tracks. Safe Roads. Safe Lives’ campaign will include public sensitization, increased deployment of crossing guards, and stricter enforcement at high-risk points along the railway corridor.