Boost for traders as SGR-metre rail start operations

State officials led by KRA Commissioner General Githii Mburu (in orange vest) and Transport CS James Macharia at new Naivasha ICD. [File, Standard]

Traders who use rail to transport their cargo from Mombasa to Malaba will save over Sh136,140 per container after Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) cut charges by nearly half.

It now takes Sh90,000 per container to transport goods via rail compared to Sh200,000 per container via road.

This has been made possible by linking the new Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and the old Metre Gauge Railway (MTR).

President Uhuru Kenyatta who recently visited the Inland Container Depot in Naivasha hailed the partnership between KRC and Kenya Ports Authority for the successful execution of the container cargo transhipment project.

It previously took three days to transport cargo from Mombasa to Malaba using the MTR, but with the SGR link from Mombasa to Naivasha, it will take only 28 hours.

Kenya Railways Managing Director Philip Mainga said the linking of MRT and SGR lines ensures seamless trans-shipment.

He said the SGR/MGR link will move cargo six times faster, having already done three trips, one being for export from Kampala through Malaba.

"The region has been having its own challenges in the border of Malaba so this will ease trade relations between East African countries and ensure seamless movement of goods across different borders,” he said.