This archive report was first published on 11 August 2019.
Published on August 11, 2019, by Philip Mainga, the acting Managing Director of Kenya Railways Corporation, the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) between Mombasa and Nairobi has achieved significant success in its operations.
The SGR has registered a phenomenal success, with the biggest indicator being the attainment of initial break-even projections in the past three months. During this period, the SGR trains brought in 258 freight trains, transiting 23,522 container tonnes.
The success has been evident in both the passenger and freight components, with the latter service starting in January last year. The tonnage lifted during the last quarter from Mombasa to Nairobi increased to 1,059,215 metric tonnes from the corresponding quarter's tonnage of 1,024,220 in 2018.
Today, the SGR line operates an average of eight cargo trains daily, with the number sometimes going up to 14, depending on the cargo arriving at the port. Conventional and containerised cargo have topped the uptake charts, and the line has achieved its objective of supporting the nascent industrial and agro-processing sectors.
The game-changer was the proposal to cut freight tariff rates from $33.3 per tonne to $20.5 per tonne. This move has made the service tariffs competitive and favourable compared to road transport costs, further driving uptake.
Equally critical to this success is a joint marketing campaign executed by Kenya Railways Corporation in partnership with the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and the contractor, China Road and Bridge Corporation. Greater efficiency at the Mombasa port and the streamlining of cargo clearance operations at the Inland Container Depot (ICD) have also contributed to the success.
Whereas previously, 24 agencies operated at the ICD sites, this was eventually compressed to just four critical ones – Kenya Railways, Kenya Revenue Authority, Kenya Bureau of Standards, and the KPA, significantly reducing red tape and turnaround time.
Improved road network has also played a crucial role in cargo evacuation from and delivery to the ICD. Plans are underway to have truck holding areas to improve efficiency in collecting and picking of cargo at the ICD in Embakasi, Nairobi.
When freight trains commenced operations in January 2018, it had just one pair daily. The teething problems experienced in the past have been surmounted, and the service has now become a game-changer.
The target is now to operate 10 containerised cargo and four to five conventional trains daily from Mombasa to Nairobi. Growth and continuous service improvement have not been just a preserve of freight services alone.
A deliberate effort to align booking systems and more efficient refund procedures has helped in driving passenger uptake and overall efficiency. The SGR is poised to return the investment Kenya has put in it in the long run.
