116
EUROPE AND AFRICA
Consequently, from April, 1921, the railway has been con-
trolled by a Central Railway Council, consisting of a chair-
man and one official and one unofficial member from each of
the two colonies, and railway surpluses have been reserved
for railway extension. There are now three feeders to the
main line. Nearest the coast is the Voi-Taveta—Moshi line
constructed during the war to facilitate communication with
the Usambara highlands in German East Africa. Farther
inland the Magadi branch runs 91 miles southwest to the
soda deposits of Lake Magadi. Then comes the Thika
branch running from the capital Nairobi north to the Thika
River, 32 miles. This will be extended to Mount Kenya.
Another longer line (145 miles) was begun in 1921 which will
run northwest from Nakuru over the Uasin Gishu plateau
to Turbo and eventually beyond that. A section of this line
will attain an altitude of 9135 feet and will be the highest
railway in the British Empire. In Uganda, two short rail-
ways have been constructed from Victoria Nyanza as a base,
so that by water they communicate with and act as feeders
for the line to the coast. One line joins Port Bell to Kam-
pala, a native metropolis northwest of the lake, and a line
62 miles in length joins Jinji with Namasagali on Lake
Kioga, forming a part of the rail and river route to Cairo.
Steamers run to Khartoum twice a month. To facilitate
trade over the Uganda Railway £1,000,000 is being invested
in the development of Kilindini Harbor, which is on the
mainland opposite the island and town of Mombasa. When
the wharves are completed, large steamers will be able to lie
securely in deep water and load directly from the railway
tracks.
The development of the railroads has not failed to stimu-
late trade. The exports of East Africa, which were £70,000
to £75,000 in 1893, rose to £113,000 in 1901-02, the year the
road opened, and reached £1,017,000 in 1911-12. The im-