"Ernst, I have a question that I am reminded of, when I was recently emigrating to Chad, I wondered when you were going to extend the Northern Railway to the Great Lakes region, or to build a super railway from east to west." Prince Karl asked.

This is related to the work of Prince Karl, who is now mainly responsible for transporting migrants to the Chadian colony in Sigmaringen, so he has to borrow it to the Northern Railway.

Although the Northern Railway was long, its length was limited, and it came to an abrupt end after extending to the Great Lakes (Lake Victoria) area.

In Mombasa, half of the distance was covered by Chakbasa, and the remaining half of the distance had to be completed on land watching on foot or in an animal vehicle.

This is naturally a very sinful thing, and this is only a migration of people, if you count the pots and pans, guns and ammunition and other items needed for colonization, then the long journey is quite a headache, so Prince Karl asked about the Ernst Railway.

"Uncle Karl, of course I had such an idea, but there is no need to implement it, the main body of the Great Lakes region is mainly carried out along the surroundings of the Great Lakes, and its transportation is centered on the Great Lakes, and then radiates to the four shores, so our Northern Railway in East Africa was only built to Kisumu, and the rest of the distance can be transported through shipping first." Ernst explains.

However, Ernst's explanation, which was almost the reason for the construction of the Northern Railway in the first place, did not satisfy Prince Karl.

"It is true that the turnover of Kisumu City is not difficult to transport along the coast of the Great Lakes region, but the area of East Africa is large! Your land does not stop at the Great Lakes region. Prince Karl advised.

"Uncle Carl, it's true that there is still a long way to go further west, but there is no need to build a railroad there at the moment." Ernst replied.

"Well, why?"

"First of all, the current development focus of our East Africa is in the three central provinces, namely Matabele, Hohenzollern, and Swabian, that is, the plateau to the south of the Congo rainforest, so the resources of East Africa should be tilted to the south.

Of course, this is not the main problem, but the extension of the northern railway does not need to be carried out now, the railway construction needs flow, this flow is people or things, and the population of several northern provinces is not much, as for the goods except food, there is no other demand, like the central railway in the south, not only can be far grain, but also shoulder the task of transporting bulk minerals. Ernst replied.

In Ernst's opinion, the Northern Railway is now more sufficient, and it is of course necessary to extend it to the west, but it is not necessary to start it now, but it is about the same time to wait a few years.

According to Ernst, the provinces west and north of the Great Lakes are now of low development value and sparsely populated, so there is no need to build railways.

As for the province of Hesse, the most important thing for East Africa is rubber, and the prospects for the rubber industry are very broad, but to transport the rubber from Hesse, Ernst does not think that the Northern Railway is a good choice.

So Ernst went on to say to Prince Karl: "Uncle Karl, the railway was originally a relatively loss-making business in East Africa, and the construction of the Central Railway and the Northern Railway at the beginning can be said to have cost a sky-high price, and now the extension of the Northern Railway will not actually bring us tangible benefits in East Africa.

However, what you mentioned about the railway problem is a point for me, that is, the transportation problem in Hesse, which we have in East Africa and now needs Hessian rubber as a basic material for several industries.

The traffic conditions in Hesse are quite bad, and I didn't think of solving this problem by rail, and after the construction of the railway is completed, it is also the least likely to be disturbed by nature, after all, it is operated according to a fixed track, and the fixed track has to lay the roadbed. ”

The reason why Ernst said this is also to take into account the strong adaptability of the railway to the environment, the railway should be laid with thick gravel, the roadbed is very high, and the drainage and other facilities are also easier to maintain than the road.

Prince Karl: "That's not right, you can use the Northern Railway to build it all the way to Hesse, although this option is not as good as building the railway to the north of Azande, it is still acceptable." ”

Ernst shook his head and said: "No, on the contrary, I think that the solution to the transportation problem of Hesse, especially the transportation of rubber as a strategic product, has nothing to do with the Northern Railway, but has a lot to do with the Central Railway." ”

Prince Karl: "Why do you say that? ”

Ernst replied: "It is mainly related to the industrial layout of East Africa, the production of rubber in the Great Lakes region is enough to meet the needs of Nairobi and Mombasa downstream, while the cities and factories in the south need more because there are more cities and factories in the south."

In addition, the province of Hesse is distributed along the Mitumba mountain range, north and south, and it is naturally easier for us to build railways in this direction, with the least change in contour lines, and the easiest to build railways, and this can take care of most areas of the interior of Hesse.

On the other hand, if we extend the northern railway, we need to cross the Mitumba mountain range, and then we still have to build the railway in Hesse according to the north-south distribution, which is equivalent to doubling the amount of work, and the result is still the same, which is a waste. ”

Prince Karl: "Not really! If the Northern Railway is extended and then connected with the Central Railway in Hesse, so that the Northern Railway can be connected to the Central Railway, it will be a good thing for East Africa. ”

Ernst: "But then the price will have to be doubled, and we won't be able to use it in a short time, so I think it will be enough to build a northern extension of the Central Railway." ”

According to Ernst's vision, if the construction is completed, the central railway in East Africa will change from the original "D" shape to the "ten" shape.

In other words, the central railway can directly connect the navigable area in the middle reaches of the Congo River, solve the problem of the difficulty of transporting rubber from Hesse, and at the same time solve the problem of internal development of the Congolese rainforest.

Of course, the development that Ernst is referring to is not really to go to the Congolese rainforest to engage in economic construction, but to facilitate the East African government to send troops to investigate the interior of the rainforest, try to drive out the hidden natives inside, or to facilitate the transportation of East African materials, build some military bases, and prevent other forces from entering East Africa.

If the construction of this railway in Hesse Province is completed, the transportation cost of rubber in East Africa will be reduced in the future, which will be of great benefit to the development of a number of industries in East Africa, and also the development of mineral resources in Hesse Province.

After the completion of the Hesse Provincial Railway, the title of the East African Crossroads of the Central Railway can also be implemented, and the "m" shaped railway pattern can be formed in the future, which is of great significance for driving the economic development of the heart of East Africa.

(End of chapter)