Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) has embarked on an ambitious multi-billion project aimed at boosting transport from Mombasa to Malaba on the Kenya-Uganda border.
Speaking to the press on Tuesday, April 21, North Rift region board chairman Maj Gen (rtd) Pastor Awitta disclosed that plans to rehabilitate the Longonot-Eldoret-Malaba metre-gauge were already in high gear.
He further estimated that the works would take between seven and eight months to be completed.
Awitta further noted that the project would be expected to hasten transportation time in the region that majorly relies on the road network.
“There will be a lot of activities in this region in the next seven to eight months; the revival of the railway will shorten time used to transport cargo from Mombasa to Malaba and neighbouring countries,” he stated according to People Daily.
During the rehabilitation period, the major general noted that the project would be supervised by a team led by the Uasin Gishu County Commissioner Stephen Kihara.
Expressing his gratification of the project, Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago urged the team to also consider the rehabilitation of the passenger train service in the region.
He noted that the project was expected to open up the North Rift region for business.
“Before the railway collapsed, this region used to ferry 1,000 live animals and their products to Kenya Meat Commission by rail. We are looking forward to the revival of this line because it would transform this region.
"We have discussed and agreed that those who have encroached into the railway land be given a little time to harvest their crops. We also want our young people to be involved in the rehabilitation works," he stated.
This project is an addition to various railway lines that have been under rehabilitation in recent months aimed at connecting Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to the Western region.
Towards the end of March, KRC was engaged in the refurbishment of the Nairobi-Kisumu Railway which was valued at Ksh3.7 billion.
"The project aims at enhancing the transportation of goods and passengers to Kisumu and the neighbouring Uganda and Tanzania through Lake Victoria.
"It also links Kisumu Port to Naivasha ICD and Mombasa port, opening up the region to very many possibilities," stated an engineer overseeing the project at the time.
Another project that has been in the works is the Nairobi-Nanyuki metre-gauge railway expected to unlock the Central region.
