Kenya railway news

News about railway and urban rail infrastructure, operations, policy, projects and the supply industry in Kenya.

 

  • Kenya SGR CRRC coach delivery (Photo CRRC)
    News

    More coaches to boost capacity on Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway

    2024-07-06T05:00:00Z

    KENYA: A further 20 coaches which CRRC Nanjing Puzhen is supplying to increase capacity on the 480 km Standard Gauge Railway route from Mombasa to Nairobi were shipped from Shanghai at the end of June. The contract signed in September covers a mix of first, second ...

  • Kenya Railways battery study (Photo Kenya Railways)
    News

    Nairobi battery commuter train study

    2024-06-11T05:00:00Z

    KENYA: Consultancy Systra has undertaken a study into the potential use of battery-powered trains on commuter services between Nairobi and Thika, around 40 km to the northeast. The study presented to Kenya Railways and World Bank officials in April looked at what would be involved in ...

  • Kenya Railways strategic plan launch event (Photo Kenya Railways)
    News

    Kenya Railways sets out strategic plan for 2023-27

    2024-06-06T11:00:00Z

    KENYA: Kenya Railways has launched its strategic plan for 2023-27, setting out a medium-term policy, legal, institutional and regulatory framework to transform itself into the ’leading transport service provider in the region’. The plan includes developing and upgrading rail infrastructure, increasing freight and passenger capacity, expanding ...

  • Nairobi suburban railway construction launch ceremony (Photo President's office)
    News

    Nairobi suburban railway construction launched

    2023-12-19T05:00:00Z

    KENYA: President William Ruto has officially launched construction of the Riruta – Ngong commuter rail line, which is being built to relieve road congestion and lower transport costs in Nairobi. The metre-gauge line is being built by China Road & Bridge Corp under a contract awarded ...

  • Kenya train ferry Uhuru_II_01
    News

    Lake Victoria train ferry launched

    2022-09-03T05:00:00Z

    KENYA: President Uhuru Kenyatta attended the launch of the train ferry Uhuru II at Kisumu on Lake Victoria in early August. The 100 m long, 1 800 tonne ship with a capacity to carry up to 22 metre gauge wagons has been ...

  • Nairobi Central station design (5)
    News

    Nairobi Central station designs completed

    2022-05-20T08:19:00Z

    KENYA: Final designs for a new Nairobi Central station have been completed by Atkins UK for Kenya Railways and the Ministry of Transport. In January 2020 President Uhuru Kenyatta asked for British support for the Nairobi Railway City & Central Station programme to expand and decongest ...

  • ke-madaraka-express-station-krc
    News

    SGR operating contract to be terminated

    2021-03-15T12:15:00Z

    KENYA: The government has given notice that it intend to transfer control of operations on the country’s standard-gauge railway to Kenya Railway Corp from May 2022.

  • ke-nairobi-DMU-launch-flag-201110
    News

    Kenyatta inaugurates Nairobi commuter DMU service

    2020-11-10T15:12:00Z

    KENYA: The five diesel multiple-units procured by Kenya Railways Corp to expand its Nairobi commuter operations were formally launched into service on November 10. The first train was flagged off at Nairobi Central Station by President Uhuru Kenyatta, who was joined at the ...

  • Containers-Naivasha-ICD
    In depth

    Kenya: The lion stirs again

    2020-08-19T07:00:00Z

    With expansion of the Chinese-backed standard-gauge railway currently on hold, Kenya Railways Corp has turned its attention to revitalising key sections of its ageing metre-gauge network. Chris Jackson investigates.

  • ke-KR-SFM-DMU-Mallorca
    News

    Nairobi DMU deal signed

    2020-03-03T10:14:00Z

    KENYA: The much-delayed contract for Kenya Railways to purchase 11 second-hand DMUs from Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca to operate commuter services around Nairobi was formally signed by KR Managing Director Phillip Mainga during a visit to the Balearic island on March 2.

  • ke-SGR-phase2A-launch-KR
    News

    Kenyatta inaugurates SGR Phase 2A

    2019-10-16T12:07:00Z

    KENYA: The next 120 km section of the Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway was formally inaugurated by President Uhuru Kenyatta on October 16. Running from the Nairobi SGR station at Embakasi to a temporary terminus at Suswa, 35 km southwest of Naivasha, the extension takes the 1 435 ...

  • Kenya Tanzania Uganda - Thumbnail
    Country profile

    Kenya, Tanzania & Uganda - country map

    Kenya, Tanzania & Uganda: national rail network map

  • Organisations

    Ministry of Roads & Transport, Kenya

    The responsibilities of the Minister extend to all matters relating to rail, road, air and sea transport; meteorological services; civil aviation; posts and telecommunications; ports and shipping. The ministry operates under two state departments, with the State Department of Transport containing the Railways Division. AddressTranscom HousePO Box 52692-00200Ngong RoadNairobiKenyaPhone+254 020 ...

  • Organisations

    Kenya Railways Corp (KRC)

    The original line in Kenya opened from Mombasa to Kisumu on Lake Victoria in 1901. East African Railways & Harbours Administration was set up in 1948; it was divided into national railways for Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania in 1977. Rift Valley Railways won the concession to operate the Kampala-Mombasa metre-gauge ...

  • Kenya and Uganda’s transport ministers have announced that further phases of the ambitious standard gauge railway serving the two countries have been put on hold in favour of upgrades to the existing metre gauge network.
    News

    Standard gauge plans on hold in Kenya

    2019-05-15T11:27:01Z

    KENYA: Little more than a year after the opening of the Chinese-built 1 435 mm gauge railway between Mombasa and Nairobi, there are signs that East Africa’s love affair with China’s Belt & Road Initiative may be waning. On May 8, Kenya’s Transport & Infrastructure Minister James Macharia and ...

  • The first commercial freight train on the Standard Gauge Railway ran on January 1, carrying 104 containers from Mombasa to the Embakasi Inland Container Depot in Nairobi.
    News

    Mombasa – Nairobi standard gauge freight service launched

    2018-01-03T11:08:32Z

    KENYA: The first commercial freight train on the Standard Gauge Railway ran from Mombasa to the Embakasi Inland Container Depot in Nairobi on January 1. The 52-wagon train carried 104 TEU, which the operator pointed out was ‘almost equivalent to the trucks operating daily on the Mombasa – Nairobi highway.’ ...

  • The termination of Rift Valley Railways’ concession has been agreed ‘by joint consent’.
    News

    Termination of Rift Valley Railways concession agreed

    2017-08-08T13:23:09Z

    KENYA: The termination of Rift Valley Railways’ concession to operate the Kenyan section of the metre gauge Kenya – Uganda railway network has been agreed ‘by joint consent’ after the high court in Nairobi backed Kenya Railways’ attempts to end the contract. KR had sought to end the concession in ...

  • President Uhuru Kenyatta has opened the 472 km Standard Gauge Railway between Mombasa and Nairobi.
    News

    Mombasa – Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway opened

    2017-05-31T10:10:41Z

    KENYA: President Uhuru Kenyatta officially opened the 472 km Standard Gauge Railway between the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa and Nairobi on May 31, travelling on the inaugural Madaraka Express passenger service. The previous evening he had launched an inaugural freight train from Port Reitz in Mombasa, waving a giant ...

  • tn_ke-rvr-passengertrain-nairobi.jpg
    News

    Nairobi moves ahead with transport plans

    2017-02-22T11:13:50Z

    KENYA: President Uhuru Kenyatta issued an executive order on February 9 creating the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority. Covering the counties of Nairobi City, Kiambu, Kajiado, Machakos and Murang’a, NMATA aims to formulate a ‘sustainable integrated public transport strategy’ based on bus rapid transit and commuter rail routes. It ...

  • The first rolling stock transfer on February 2 was flagged off from Mombasa by Kenya's Regional Commissioner, Coast, Nelson Marba.
    News

    Kenya – Uganda construction timescale agreed

    2017-02-03T11:38:36Z

    AFRICA: Meeting in Nairobi on February 2, ministers from Kenya and Uganda agreed a ‘synchronised’ timescale for construction of the 1 435 mm gauge railway planned to link the two countries. Signed by Uganda’s Finance Minister Matla Kasila, Kenya’s Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich and Transport & Urban Development Secretary James ...