The government through Kenya Railways Corporation, the national railway of Kenya that is also known as Kenya Railways, is set to spend close to US$ 40M to rehabilitate a total of 363 kilometers of old railway lines, which are currently dilapidated, vandalized, or overgrown with vegetation, in the country.
The lines include the 217km Nakuru-Kisumu meter-gauge railway (MGR), the 77.8km Gilgil-Nyahururu MGR branch line, and the 69.05 Kisumu-Butere section. Approximately US$ 26.41M have already been aside for the Nakuru-Kisumu line, US$ 4.73M for the Kisumu- Butere, and US$ 8.8M for the Gilgil- Nyahururu branch line.
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The three lines will act as main transshipment points between the standard gauge railway, and road for freight traffic destined for areas beyond the Naivasha inland container depot, before the implementation of the Nairobi-Malaba SGR project.
Implementation of the project to rehabilitate 363 kilometers of old MGR railway lines in Kenya
The project, which generally seeks to replace the existing rail, signal equipment, stations, and locomotive-hauled coaches with modern and efficient rail infrastructure and passenger coaches with new technology, will be carried out internally by Kenya Railways staff with technical support from Kenya Defence Forces and the National Youth Service.
In addition to the revitalization of the three railway lines, Kenya Railways will also construct a new station at Kisumu as part of the project. The station will have components such as a manager’s office, reception, a waiting lounge and lobby, and approximately 50,000 square feet of commercial space.
Upon completion, the station is expected to provide passengers with an enhanced experience as well as create business opportunities for small and medium enterprises and create over 2,000 jobs for the residents.
