By Evans Ongwae
Over the last 10 years, Kenya Railways Corporation has registered a string of impressive milestones that are boosting the economy.
Within the last five years alone, Kenya Railways has moved 12 million tonnes of cargo between Mombasa and Nairobi. Over the same period, the corporation has moved 20 million passengers at convenient fares.
Kenya Railways managing director Philip Mainga points out that investments in railway systems are long-term, with the true effects being felt years later.
He explains: “We have started seeing the impact of the railway system to the economy, and we expect its contribution to the gross domestic product to reach 7.5 percent in the next one or two years.” The railway system, he adds, reduces the cost of transporting goods and supports e-commerce.
Through Madaraka Express, the corporation supports the tourism industry at Kenya’s coast. Many more people are now inspired to visit the coastal counties, owing to the availability of affordable, comfortable transport via the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Madaraka Express kept tourism at the coast afloat, the Kenya Railways MD adds.
On cargo transportation, Mr Mainga lauds the Government for establishing the Nairobi Inland Container depot (ICD), which he says has changed the dynamics of moving goods to and from Mombasa.
The establishment of the Naivasha ICD has further improved the flow of cargo. “It takes eight hours to move cargo from Mombasa to Nairobi, two hours from Nairobi to Naivasha, and 10 hours to Malaba on the Uganda border,” says Mr Mainga.
Kenya Railways serves the larger eastern Africa region, with countries such as Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and South Sudan moving their goods through the SGR.
The corporation has rehabilitated several other railway lines, now being used by passengers. It has rehabilitated the Nairobi-Nanyuki and the Nakuru-Kisumu metre gauge lines that had been dormant for more than 15 years. On the Nairobi-Nanyuki line, Kenya Railways has so far moved more than 240 million litres of fuel. On Fridays and Saturdays, Kenya Railways moves passengers from Nairobi to Kisumu.
The Corporation has also rehabilitated the Kitale line, and is currently restoring the Voi-Taveta line. “We can now connect almost every part of the country by rail,” says Mr Mainga.
And through the rehabilitated MV Uhuru, the corporation also moves fuel through Lake Victoria, and this “has changed the dynamics of water transport in East Africa,” asserts the Kenya Railways MD.
The revived Nairobi Commuter Railway (NCR) can move 50,000 to 80,000 commuters daily. The corporation has added new equipment to give commuters comfort. The commuter railway takes passengers to Embakasi, from where they are ferried by Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). NCR also ferries passengers from Kenya Railways Nairobi Central Station to the SGR station at Syokimau.
“We have increased the number of railway stations in Nairobi, from four to 30, making it easy for commuters to access our services,” says Mr Mainga.
Kenya Railways has rehabilitated its workshops and the Railways Training Institute. The institute now trains more than 4,000 students.
“Our workshops now manufacture train engines,” says the Kenya Railways MD, pointing out that this is a first in Africa. “Soon, you will see locomotives manufactured at Kenya Railways,” he adds.
Another success story is the SME Deconsolidation Centre located next to the Coffee Board of Kenya offices on Haile Selassie Avenue, Nairobi. This is where Kenya Railways undertakes last mile delivery of cargo for SMEs.
Mr Mainga explains: “About 10 traders can buy cargo from, say, India, China or Turkey, and consolidate it into one container for transportation. Upon arrival at the centre, the cargo is deconsolidated. They then pick their cargo. They can use mikokoteni (handcarts), pick-ups, or personal cars, to transport their goods from the centre.”
He continues: “It is the most exciting part of the achievement through the Government of Kenya and even for our President Uhuru Kenyatta, who came up with that idea on how we could support small scale traders.”
Mr Mainga notes that this way, “the government has reduced the cost of transport for these traders, thus putting money in their pockets.… And this has changed people’s lives. It has changed the way small-scale traders do their business.”
Mr Mainga is delighted with the exciting prospects presented by SGR, whose phase one, from Mombasa to Nairobi, and phase two, from Nairobi to Naivasha, is complete.
In addition to plans to connect more parts of the country to the railway system, Kenya Railways is also keen to link neighbouring countries to the network, says the managing director. “What we need to do is to complete the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Naivasha to Kisumu, then to Malaba, to increase the efficiency of movement of goods from the port of Mombasa to our partner states. That means Uganda is also going to do their SGR. We look forward to that development,” Mr Mainga says.
The railway corporation is also exploring how to develop the transport corridor that runs from Lamu Port to Ethiopia and South Sudan. This is under the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia (LAPSSET) programme.
Mr Mainga reveals that the partner states, Ethiopia and Sudan Sudan, have completed a study and the programme is gaining more impetus as the Lamu Port is now operational.
The Kenya Railways MD explains: “So we are looking forward to construct a railway system from Lamu to Moyale and Ethiopia through Isiolo, all the way to Nadapal in South Sudan.
Looking back inward, one of the other exciting plans Kenya Railways has is to have a connection from Riruta to Ngong within the Nairobi metropolis. This route has many people moving, the Kenya Railways MD says. The corporation is eyeing the numbers.
“We are also looking at a line from Embakasi Village to Ruai. We want to connect commuters from Kangundo Road all the way to Nairobi. There are a lot of people living along that area,” Mainga details.
Kenya Railways is additionally considering fixing the missing links between Ruiru and Limuru, “so that we can have a circular movement of our trains within the entire city,” says Mr Mainga.
He then poses: “Why can’t our people who live in Machakos work in Nairobi? Why are people living in Narok not able to work in Nairobi? Why can’t people live in Thika and work in Nairobi?”
Mr Mainga says Kenya Railways plans to connect the outlying towns that neighbour Nairobi, so that the growth of the capital city is extended outward.
In addition, Kenya Railways, says the MD, plans to bring in new equipment “that can do long distances from all our routes, so that when you’re going to Thika, you take about 45 minutes or 30 minutes to arrive.”
