
Standard Gauge Railyway
Standard Gauge Railyway : The Mombasa- Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SRG) is a 480 km-long line that connects the port city of Mombasa with the capital city of Nairobi, replacing the colonial meter gauge railway, the construction began in the year 2013, and the initial segment was completed in 2017 at the cost of a approximately USD 3.8 billion. An additional USD 1.5 billion extension to the tourist hub of Naivasha was completed in 2019, and 2020 it was at 85%. While the railway operates passenger services, it’s primary to improve the freight transportation to and from the Port of Mombasa. It is planned as the first tour step toward an East African regional SGR network, reaching the Ugandan border, its capital city of Kampala, and Rwanda’s capital of Kigali with branches extending to South Sudan’s capital of Juba.
Standard Gauge Railway has had some important successes. Trains run faster than the former railway or road traffic, and its passenger services are popular.

The amount of freight carried by the SGR has risen significantly since commercial operations began, and it has helped to decongest port operations, speed freight transportation, and hence cargo security. The Kenyatta administration considers the SGR to be ‘‘a vital component for the realization of the Kenya Vision 2030’’ developed agenda.
The railway is the biggest infrastructure project in Kenya since its independence and will replace a track built 100 years ago during the British colonial rule, ‘’Kenya Railways invites you to make a stop and enjoy the incredible tour sights of the standard gauge railway as you travel’’. This has identifies Simba Railway Station, Voi Bridge, Taru Crossover, Athi River Super and Ndumoto bridges as places that are worth visiting.
The standard gauge railway has cut the journey time from Nairobi to Mombasa to 4.5 hours from the current 10 hours. The tourism stakeholders say that the railway will be a major boost to tourism by offering comfortable travel and tour easy connectivity. ‘’ The railway line will link beach and safari tourism and make the products exciting for the local and the international,’’ Sam Ikwaye, the Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers and Caterer’s branch official at the coast.

Henry Wandera, a Nairobi-based economics lecturer, said that Kenyans were finding the railway line an attraction as it is the first time many Kenyans witnessed a rail line being constructed. Wandera said that the country’s old railway was built when more than half of the current population had not been born, and over three-quarters of them have never used it. The new Standard gauge railway line offers many chances to not only see this construction but also bordering a train as well.
Features of Kenya’s high-capacity SRG.
The standard grade was selected so that Kenya can sealessly connect to neighboring railways in Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan.
Each freight train will have a haulage capacity of 4000 tons (216 TEUS) with a designated speed of speed of 80km/ hour (50 mph)
Each passenger train will have a capacity of 960 passengers with a designed speed of 120 km/hour (75 mph).The railway was built by the China Road and Bridge Corporation.
The US Standard railroad gauge is 4 feet, 8.5 inches (Gauge means width between the two rails). The U.S federal safety standards allow the standard gauge to vary from 4 ft. 8 in (1420 mm) to 4 ft. 91/2 in (1,460 mm) for operation up to 60 mph (97 km/hr.)
Construction of the railway began in 2014 with an investment of USD 3.8 billion (USD), 90% of which is funded by the China’s Exim Bank.

The Mombasa-Nairobi SGR is the flagship project of Kenya Vision 2030, Kenya’s development plan from 2008 to 2030 that seeks to transform Kenya into an industrialization and middle-income country by 2030. The Standard Gauge Railway is also Kenya’s largest infrastructure project since independence in 1963.
The Standard Gauge Railway made the roads safer for the human traffic, also it is expected to speed up industrialization through the cheaper transport and the establishment of the new industries to service the new railway, more over the new project is accepted to protect the environment through reduced carbon emission and safe tour.
