Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) has resumed transporting coffee exports by rail after an eight-year absence, successfully moving its first coffee export consignment to Mombasa.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Uganda exported 8.6 million bags of coffee between June 2025 and May 2026. URC did not handle those volumes during that period, but the corporation has now returned to the coffee export transportation business with the successful movement of its maiden coffee consignment by rail.

The last time a URC train made a similar coffee export journey to Mombasa was in 2018.

The consignment consisted of 29 containers, including 28 20-foot containers and one 40-foot container, with a total weight of 606.60 tonnes.

URC said transporting the same cargo by road would have required approximately 17 heavy-duty trucks, based on an average payload of 36 tonnes per truck. The estimated road transport cost would have been about $84,500, using prevailing road freight rates of approximately $2,900 per 20-foot container and $3,300 per 40-foot container.

By rail, URC transported the entire shipment on a single train at a cost of $735 per 20-foot container and $990 per 40-foot container, bringing the total freight cost to $21,570.

The railway company said the rail option resulted in estimated freight savings of $62,930 compared with road transportation.

Beyond cost savings, URC highlighted the environmental and logistical benefits of rail transport, noting that moving the coffee shipment on one train removed about 17 trucks from the road network. This helped reduce road congestion, lower carbon emissions, and limit risks linked to multiple truck movements.

URC said the return to coffee haulage is part of its efforts to diversify its cargo portfolio and strengthen the role of rail transport in Uganda’s export sector.

The corporation added that efficient rail freight services can help improve the competitiveness of Ugandan exports on the global market while supporting the country’s wider economic development goals.