MUKONO.A total of 303 passengers survived death after a train and a bus crashed head-on at Namumira Village on the Katosi Road in Mukono District on Thursday morning.
The crash between a Trinity Express Ltd bus, registration number RAH 629B, and a Uganda Railway passenger train (73U32) paralysed traffic after the road was blocked by the locomotives.
The bus, driven by Eliud Kuria, was travelling from Nairobi to Kampala and failed to stop at the railway crossing at around 6:45am, colliding with the train operated by Henry Munyarurembo. The rear part of the bus was damaged, Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson Patrick Onyango confirmed.
“The driver was arrested. The cause of the accident was speeding, and this can have serious consequences, and it’s crucial for motorists to exercise caution and follow safety guidelines,” Onyango warned.
No one was injured or killed in the crash , Onyango added.
According to Trinity Bus conductor Alex Agaba, the bus had left Nairobi at around 4:30pm the previous day and was heading to Kigali, Rwanda.
“Jean Baptiste, the second driver who was next to him (Eliud Kuria), who was taking miraa at the time of the accident, tried to alert him to stop after hearing a train hooting, but it was too late because there was no warning of a railway crossing sign,” Agaba said .
The crash left more than 260 train passengers travelling to Kampala for work, and 43 bus passengers en route to Kigali, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo stranded.
Over 200 train passengers who had already paid for tickets demanded refunds shortly after the crash, confirmed the Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) managing director, Benon Kajuna.
“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused. The front locomotive was damaged and derailed, which necessitated the suspension of the morning train services,” Kajuna said.
Kajuna stressed the importance of adhering to traffic rules and regulations, especially at railway crossings in Kampala, Malaba, Port Bell and Nalukolongo.
Sam Kakeeto ,a taxi driver who plies the Mukono Wantoni–Katosi route, regretted the crash ,saying this is the second accident involving locomotives in one year .