A new railway, built and funded by China, is being built in Kenya to replace the "Lunatic Line" built from 1896-1901 joining Mombasa on the coast to Kisumu on Lake Victoria. The purpose of the original 660 mile, metre-gauge railway was to give Uganda a rail connection to the sea. The nickname was given to the line because of the huge cost and extraordinary death-toll - 2498 Indian and African construction workers lost their lives in the construction of the line including at least 28 (and according to some accounts, over 100) who were stalked and eaten by a pair of lions.

Construction workers on the slightly less remote and rather shorter Far North Line were comparatively lucky in being eaten alive only by midges. There is an interesting Scottish connection to the story: several ferries were constructed in kit form in Paisley by Bow, McLachlan & Co and arrived at Lake Victoria by sea and the new railway.