Kenya takes full control of SGR as Chinese team set to exit

Kenya is on course to take full control of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) by December as the last group of Chinese nationals working on the project prepare to exit, eight years after the line began operations.

Kenya Railways Managing Director Phillip Mainga said the localisation process is almost complete, with Chinese staff having reduced drastically over the years.

"That means localisation and enabling our own young people to work with us, creating talents and transfer of skills has been successfully implemented," Mainga said.

He was speaking during the SGR’s eighth anniversary celebration held at the Nairobi terminus in Syokimau, under the theme ‘Celebrating safe operations of Madaraka Express’.

“We have about four to five months. By December, we will take over completely and the remaining Chinese staff will exit. That’s one of the key things we pride ourselves in on the eighth anniversary,” he added.

Mainga said SGR has been operating safely and successfully under local management, with no major incidents in the past eight years.

He said cargo and passenger services have recorded strong growth. “We have experienced major growth in our cargo movements as well as our passenger numbers. We also brought additional equipment, including 300 new wagons to SGR,” he said.

To improve the passenger experience, Mainga said a premium class coach was introduced and has been well-received.

He highlighted Naivasha as one of the stations where operations have expanded significantly.

"But now, we are moving about five trains every day to Naivasha and connecting cargo to Meter Gauge Railway in Naivasha," Mainga said.

He noted that the number of daily trains had increased.

"We have moved from seven–eight trains to around 10 trains per day, at times operating 11–12 trains. But, an average of eight–nine trains per day, something that never happened before," he said.

Mainga projected a 30% increase in cargo volume this year.

"We will exceed the previous year’s performance in cargo service by a million tonnes," he said.

He also predicted a rise in passengers.

"For passenger services, they will grow with about 200,000–300,000 more passengers hitting about 2.6 million passengers this year," Mainga said.

He added, "So, the SGR’s performance is exceptional. We have looked at our contribution as an infrastructure in this country. Currently, we are contributing about two – three per cent to this country’s GDP."

According to Mainga, passengers on the Nairobi-Mombasa route are now travelling in just four and a half to five hours.