A report about the Lunatic Line on the BBC

[Andreas Umnus]

I often listen to Podcasts around the world to improve my English. Some Podcasts are about Africa because I think it's an interesting continent.

So I listen often to the program "African Persektive" by the BBC.

When I downloaded the latest episode I was gladly surprised it was about a railway line.

On the web page of the BBC youcan still listen to part 1 or download it as Podcast.

"The Lunatic Line 1/2
Sat, 6 Aug 11

Duration:
27 mins
Available:
26 days remaining

A hundred years ago a 600-mile railway line was completed in East Africa. Stretching westwards from the
Indian Ocean to the shores of Lake Victoria, it was an engineering miracle. But its financial and human cost
was immense and it became known as the Lunatic Line. Over the next two weeks Ayisha Yahya is in Kenya to explore its history."

This is the link to the African Perspektive page: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/afpersp

and this is the download link for the Podcast: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/wor ... -0900a.mp3

I hope I posted this information in the correct part of the forum and I hope you will enjoy to listen to it.

Please be aware that this is a report in two parts.

[John Ashworth]

Thanks, Andreas, for bringing this up here. I haven't heard the programmes myself, but there has been some comment about them on the East_Africa_Steam Yahoo group.

“The Lunatic Line” was the title of a two part documentary on railways in Kenya recently presented on UK BBC Radio 4 by Ayisha Yahya, who herself worked for East African Railways and Harbours in the 1970s. The first half-hour programme concentrated on the building of the Uganda Railway, including the man-eating lions of Tsavo. The deputy curator of the Nairobi Railway Museum gave the historical background. In the second programme, Ayisha took the train from Nairobi to Mombasa, mixing comments from her train journey with statements from those who favour building a new “high speed” standard gauge railway, initially from Mombasa to Nairobi. A spokesman from “Vision 2030”, a development lobbying group, was very keen on the new railway as an aid to expanding the economy. Both Ayisha and a spokesman for Kenya Railways admitted that the current metre gauge system had become very much run down, starting in the 1970s. Ayisha noted the poor state of the coach in which she rode – although she did have a good night’s sleep. Another planned project was a totally new standard gauge line from a new port at Lamu, on the northern Kenya coast, to boost contact and trade with southern Ethiopia and the newly-independent state of Southern Sudan. The problems of raising funding for both new railway projects were discussed. Were these new “Lunatic Lines”? Overall it was an interesting pair of programmes, presented by someone who is a journalist rather than a railway enthusiast

[Andreas Umnus]

The summeary sounds ineresting for part two.

Yes, when I heard the program last night, I thought that might especially interesting for you.

[Kevin Wilson-Smith]

Thanks Andreas for this! Very nice find and I have enjoyed it!

[Andreas Umnus]

Kevin, nice to hear that you enjoyed it.

Now is part 2 available. Same link as in my first post.