Kenya Railways Corporation, on Tuesday, February 23, announced changes on the Standard Gauge Railways Service in its bid to ensure efficiency in cargo evacuations.
The corporation dedicated two cargo trains daily from the port of Mombasa to Nairobi in order to deliver approximately 6,000 tonnes of cargo both for local and transit clients.
According to KR, the move is meant to increase the daily delivery to Nairobi and Naivasha Inland Container Depots (ICD).
"Kenya Railways continues to play a critical role in the evacuation and transportation of cargo reducing dwell time at the Port of Mombasa," KR stated.
The service further acknowledged the newly launched double-decker train service via SGR which moves approximately 154 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). The railways service has improved the daily cargo evacuation and efficiency at the Port of Mombasa.
"We are dedicated on sustaining these targets to manage cargo delivery to our esteemed clients," the corporation stated.
Further, KR recently opened a new warehouse aimed at expanding the storage capacity at the Nairobi Transit shed.
Dubbed the National Cargo Deconsolidation Centre - Nairobi (NCDC-Nairobi), the warehouse would increase the number of cargo being cleared to roughly 300 containers per month.
Also, the service would enhance the capacity of de-consolidated cargo from the initial (5) 40-foot containers to (15) 40-foot containers.
This would also be achieved by the transit shed operating on a 24-hour basis, according to the corporation.
The news comes as the government initiated measures to ensure that the railway system is revamped to reduce the over-reliance of road transport.
Some of the measures saw the rehabilitation of the Nairobi commuter trains and the introduction of 11 new Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) that were acquired at a cost of Ksh1.5 billion.
During the launch of these services, President Uhuru Kenyatta noted that the government was keen on expanding the transport sector within the country.
