A train wagon made its way to the proposed passenger station in Kisumu just days before the expected handover of the Nakuru-Kisumu railway line to the Kenya Railway Corporation.
Chief Administrative Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Peter Odoyo, said the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) is almost through with the refurbishment of the 216-kilometer Nakuru-Kisumu meter-gauge railway line.
According to Odoyo, KDF will surrender the Ksh3.7 billion rehabilitation project to the Kenya Railway Corporation in 10 days.
“Over the next 10 days, we will be checking and repairing bridges and hopefully by April, President Kenyatta and Odinga will officially open the Nakuru-Kisumu railway line,” he disclosed during an inspection tour.
Although the railway has 17 stations, operations at the line branch stopped upon granting of the Rift Valley Railways (RVR) consortium in 2008.
The revival of the old line will facilitate easy transportation of goods across various counties.
The operations manager at Kenya Railways Corporation, Mwalimu Disi, said that KRC will undertake final touches in vandalized areas which will be complete in a month.
Uganda recently approved the refurbishment of the 215km Malaba – Kampala meter-gauge railway that will usher train services in the East African region.
The project will cost Ksh 41 billion and will enable commuters to travel from Mombasa to Kampala (the Ugandan capital), via the border town of Malaba.
The Malaba-Kampala railway project is expected to create 150,000 jobs including during construction and will boost export and tourism.
The Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) also moved to save the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) service from growing losses occasioned by the low uptake of the cargo train by reducing transportation charges.
Cargo and passenger services seek to enhance the economic viability of the railway lines in the country by easing the movement of freight and passengers.
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