Kenya Railways

Kenya Railways has commenced the process of building a modern high capacity Standard Gauge railway line for Kenya.

This was announced by the Managing Director of Kenya Railways Corporation Nduva Muli, at a Press Conference held at the Kenya Railways Headquarters Saturday.

This follows a Request For Proposals (RFP) for a Transaction Adviser in a paid-up International Tender advertisement released by the Corporation on 8th September 2009 in the local and international press.

Speaking during the media briefing, Mr Muli said that the Mombasa- Nairobi- Kisumu-Malaba line is one of the 3 major railway lines in the national railway Master Plan that has been developed by the Corporation.

The other lines are Lamu- Juba and Nairobi- Addis Ababa and plans for these are at an advanced stage.

The new railway line will meet increased transport demands that are projected to be in excess of 30 million tonnes by the year 2030, against the current 17 million tonnes that pass through Mombasa Port.

Freight volumes have grown beyond previous projections and already outstrip available transport capacity- both road and rail, causing perennial congestion at the Mombasa Port.

The situation is bound to get worse with a projected freight growth of 8% annually.

The current 100-year old Metre Gauge railway line has limited capacity and cannot cope with the increased demand.

Transportation costs in Kenya and the East Africa region constitute 40 -45% of the total cost of production, against a global average of 15%, which makes local products uncompetitive in the global markets.

In India and China for example, railway transport accounts for 90% of the long distance freight movement; in Kenya a meagre 5% is what is transported by railway, causing pressure on the road network.

The new railway will be a high capacity Standard Gauge railway with freight trains hauling a minimum 4000 tonnes - on over 1 km long trains, compared to the 800 tonnes on the Metre Gauge railway.

Freight trains will be operating at an average speed of 120Kph, and Double Decker passenger trains at an average speed of 160 kph.

Current operating speeds on the meter gauge railway are between 30 and 45Km/h at best.