The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) on Wednesday made one of the biggest strides in becoming a reality after the first train completed the Nairobi-Mombasa journey in a record six hours.
The journey, which covered 472 kilometres, was made as part of a test to measure whether the trains would live up to the expectations set out while the project was being started.
"The test runs were meant to determine the train's performance ability on the new SGR track," SGR Project Coordinator Johnson Matu stated.
The train left Nairobi at 9.30 in the morning and managed to move at an impressive speed of 120 KM/hr to Mtito Andei where it had a two-hour stopover. The train arrived in Mombasa at around 4pm.
After the stopover, the train had much lower speeds in what officials explained was as a result of uncompleted works in the signalling communication.
"We used the manual system to clear the incoming trains. We have been duly informed that work on the upgrade between Mombasa and Mtito Andei will be completed by Thursday," Matu explained.
The train is currently in Mombasa County after it docked at the Mombasa Marshalling Yard.
Here is the video:
The SGR Train has passed the test.
Takes 2hrs from Nairobi to Mtito Andei.#SGRTransformingTransport pic.twitter.com/iW4yOgmWye— Brian Khaniri (@BKhaniri) March 9, 2017
