A passenger service train at the Ngong Tunnel. one of the three tunnels between Nairobi and Naivasha measuring 7.15km/FILE – KRC
NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 16 – President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to open the second phase of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Nairobi to Naivasha.
The commissioning of Phase 2A was delayed in May after locals who had surrendered their parcels of land for the construction of the line staged protests demanding compensation.
Rail services were expected to have commenced by June 1, according to Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC).
The 120.5km line between Nairobi to Naivasha which cost Sh150bn is expected to pave way for the Madaraka Express Passenger and Freight services.
KRC will also operate a commuter train between Ngong/Rongai/Suswa and Nairobi.
The railway agency said in statement on Tuesday said there are four intermediate stations with one inter-change station at Nachu.
“The new railway line cuts across across Nairobi, Kajiado, Nakuru and Narok with four passenger stations- Ongata Rongai, Ngong, Mai Mahiu and Suswa,” KRC indicated.
“It has 29 bridges; 6 super-major, 15 major and 8 mediums. At 46 metres, Mulua Orkondi in Duka Moja, Narok County, is the tallest of the bridges,” the agency added.
The project has seen the government spend Sh17.6 billion on land compensation, through the National Lands Commission.
In May 2017, the Standard Gauge Railway began t operations aimed at cutting down the cost of transporting goods from Mombasa, as well as reducing time it gets to the destination.
The railway is the country’s biggest infrastructure project since independence.
The Maasai community has moved to court to oppose a planned dry port along the SGR corridor.
On the other end, plans for Phase 2B, running from Naivasha to Kisumu and the border town of Malaba.
The Ministry of Transport is set to rehabilitate the old metre-gauge railway to connect the Niavash dry port to Kisumu, pending the financing and completion of Phase 2B.
