1,620 freight wagons to ease cargo movement

Corporate News

A section of the standard gauge railway in Changamwe, Kenya. Photo/Laban Walloga 

By Joshua Masinde

In Summary

• 59 locomotives and 40 passenger coaches will also constitute the high speed train expected to connect Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and later South Sudan.
• It will also involve the supply and installation of signalling, communications, electricity and water supply facilities to each station along the standard gauge rail (SGR)’s route.

A total of 1,620 freight wagons will constitute the standard gauge rail from Mombasa to Nairobi to ease cargo movement.

According to the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC), 59 locomotives and 40 passenger coaches will also constitute the high speed train expected to connect Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and later South Sudan in a bid to lower the cost of doing business in the East African region.

“To ensure there is rolling stock for seamless operations on commissioning, the contractor is expected to supply and commission 59 locomotives, 1,620 freight wagons and 40 passenger coaches,” KRC’s managing director, Atanas Maina, noted of the Sh327 billion rail project.

The rail sector was characterised by declines in both freight and passenger traffic in 2013. Freight tonnage transported dropped by 12 per cent and revenue earned from freight traffic declined 16 per cent to Sh4.6 billion.

READ: Spotlight on RVR as rail share of cargo drops further

The move is expected to reduce pressure on the port of Mombasa which has been rendered inefficient partly due to rail transport.

The first phase of the project will entail the construction of 609 kilometers of single track railway including sidings and necessary tracks, construction of stations, workshops and depots.

It will also involve the supply and installation of signalling, communications, electricity and water supply facilities to each station along the standard gauge rail (SGR)’s route.

“We will ensure that individuals and businesses reap optimally from the new jobs and commercial opportunities that this unprecedented project will spawn,” KRC’s managing director, Atanas Maina, said of the Sh327 billion rail project.

KRC, which is the supervisory agency, estimates that the about 10,000 new jobs will be created in the construction of the SGR.

Chinese firm, China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), is expected to begin construction of the rail network later in the year. The SGR will later link all Mombasa, Nairobi and Kisumu to Kigali, through Kampala with a branch to Juba.