Kenya Plans More Cargo Train to De-congest Mombasa Port
The standard gauge rail (SGR) freight service will increase the number of daily trains on the Mombasa-Nairobi route in the next five months to facilitate faster movement of cargo between the port and the inland container depot (ICD) in Embakasi, reported the Nation.
The report quoted China Communications Construction Company chairman, Lu Shan, as saying that the trains will have increased to 28 by December. He added that currently, they are operating 12 freight trains on a daily basis.
As of now, the ICD has capacity to handle 450,000 Twenty-Foot equivalent Units (TEUs) per year, up from its original design of 180,000 TEUs. It receives four trains daily, carrying 108 containers each.
According to Xinhua report, Paul Maringa, Principal Secretary for Transport and Infrastructure, said the Phase 2A of the Nairobi-Naivasha SGR line being constructed by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) is currently 70 percent complete.
"The SGR line is expected to help take modernity to the far flung parts of the southwestern Kenya by opening up the hinterlands," Maringa said.