The 950mm-gauge line from Massawa on the coast, inland to Agordot, was built during colonial occupation by the Italians with some steep gradients which meant that Mallets were considered to be suitable motive power.
The line should not be confused with the metre-gauge line running from Djibouti to Addis Ababa. A metre-gauge railway that was originally built by the French from 1894 to 1917 which has since been replaced by a Chinese built standard-gauge line. [5]
In 1907, Maffei built three 0-4-4-0T locomotives for the Massawa to Agerdot line.
Ansaldo the “supplied twenty five further engines of the same class between 1911 and 1915, and in 1931 and 1939 Asmara shops assembled a nominal three new engines from d components of earlier withdrawn engines. All these were standard European narrow-gauge Mallet tanks, saturated, slide-valved and with inside frames.” [1: p64]
In the mid-1930s, a series of fifteen larger 0-4-4-0T locomotives were built. These were “built to a superheated, simple expansion design, of which ten had piston valves and Walschearts gear and the other five, Caprotti poppet valves driven from outside cardan shafts.” [1: p65] A later series of “eight engines built by Analdo in 1938 reverted to compound expansion, retaining the superheater and piston valve features.” [1: p65]
The last of the Eritrean Mallets was built in their own shops in 1963, making it the last Mallet built in the world. [6]
The line closed in 1975. Eritrea was occupied by Ethiopia for many years. After gaining independence in 1993, some of the former railway staff started to rebuild their totally destroyed railway. Some of the Mallets, built by Ansaldo (Italy) in 1938, were brought back to life. Also one of the small Breda built shunters, two diesel locos and two diesel railcars (one from 1935) were put back into working order. [7]
A section of the line, between Massawa, on the coast, and Asmara, was reopened in 2003 and has offered an opportunity for Mallet locomotives to be seen in operation in East Africa. Indeed, an internet search using Google brings to light a list of videos of locomotives heading tourist trains in the Eritrean landscape.
Wikipedia notes that the line has a track-gauge of 950mm and that locomotives operate over a 118 km section of the old line. Italian law from 1879 officially determined track gauges, specifying the use of 1,500 mm (4 ft 11 1⁄16 in) and 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge track measured from the centre of the rails, or 1,445 mm (4 ft 8 7⁄8 in) and 950 mm (3 ft 1 3⁄8 in), respectively, on the inside faces. [4]
Between Arbaroba and Asmara in November 2008, a single coach is headed by one of the surviving Mallet locomotives. This is an extract from an image on Wikimedia Commons (public domain). [13]
Steam operation on the line is over, no regular services are provided but occasional tours still take place with plenty of caveats about the availability of any form of propulsion. An example is a German-speaking tour planned (as of 24th March 2024) for November 2024. [8]
Tanzania (Tanganyika)
The metre-gauge line inland from Dar-es-Salaam was built by the Ost Afrika Eisenbahn Gesellschaft (East African Railway Co.). A.E. Durrant tells us that its first main line power “was a class of typical German lokalbahn 0-4-4-0T Mallets, built by Henschel in 1905-7. These were supplemented in 1908 by four larger 2-4-4-0Ts from the same builder, after which the railway turned to straight eight-coupled tank and tender engines.” [1: p67]
R. Ramaer notes that the first locomotives used by the Usambara Eissenbahn (UE) on the Tanga Line were five 0-4-2 locos which arrived on the line in 1893. Rising traffic loads led the UE “To look for something more substantial and in 1900, Jung supplied five compound Mallet 0-4-4-0T’s as numbers 1-5, later renumbered 6-10. … To provide enough space for the firebox and ashpan, the rigid high-pressure part, comprising the third and fourth axles, had outside frames, whereas the low-pressure part had inside frames.” [9: p19]
UE engine No. 1 (0-4-4-0T – supplied by Jung) with an early passenger train ready for departure at Tanga station in 1890. This image was posted on the Urithi Tanga Museum Facebook Page [10] and is also reproduced in R. Ramaer’s book. [9: p19]UE Mallet 0-4-4-0T No. 8 heading a passenger train at Mombo. This image was shared in error on the Old Asmara Eritrea Facebook Page. [11] It also appears in R. Ramaer’s book. [9: p20]
On the Central Line (Ost Afrikanische Eisenbahn Gesellschaft – or OAEG) which ran inland from Dar-es-Salaam, construction work started in 1905 and the first locomotives used by the OAEG were four 0-4-0T engines built by Henschel, a further four of these locomotives were supplied in 1909. These small engines had a surprisingly long life. Mallets were first supplied in 1905 by Henschel and were suitable for both coal and oil firing. These were 0-4-4-0T locos (four supplied in 1905 and one supplied in 1907). “The problem with this type of engine was the restricted tractive effort and running was not satisfactory because of the lack of a leading pony truck. … Therefore Henschel supplied a second batch of four locomotives in 1908 as 2-4-4-0Ts with larger boilers and cylinders. They also had a higher working pressure of 14 atmospheres (200lb/sq in) in comparison to 12 atmospheres (170lb/sq in) for the earlier engines, while the bunker capacity had been increased from 1.2 to 2.2 tonnes of coal. (Oil fuel had been discarded).” [9: p21-23]
OAEG 2-4-4-0T No. 27, in the last Mallet class to be built for German East Africa. This locomotive appears in the Wikipedia list of Henschel steam locomotives. [12] It also appears in R. Ramaer’s book [9: p23] and A.E. Durrant’s book. [1: p66]
Kenya-Uganda
An ‘MT’ class locomotive in ex-Works condition at the Queen’s Park works of the North British Locomotive Co. [1: p66]
Mallets were the first articulated locomotives to operate in East Africa. Mallets were introduced on the Uganda Railway in 1913. A.E. Durrant notes that they consisted of “a batch of eighteen 0-6-6-0 compound Mallets to what was the North British Locomotive Co’s standard metre-gauge design, as supplied also to India, Burma, and Spain. They had wide Belpaire fireboxes, inside frames and piston valves for the high pressure cylinders only. Built at Queens Park works in 1912-1913, these locomotives entered service in 1913-14 and remained at work until 1929-30, when they were replaced by the EC2 and EC2 Garratts.” [1: p66]
North British Class ‘MT’ Mallets arrived in Kenya just before the start of WW1. [2]
These locomotives were given the classification ‘MT’ within the Uganda Railway fleet. Disappointing performance and high maintenance costs led to them being relegated to secondary duties and eventually being scrapped in the late 1920s as the Beyer Garratt locomotives began to arrive. [2] Their presence on the system was heralded by, “Railway Wonders of the World,” with the picture shown below. [3]
An ‘MT’ class Uganda Railway locomotive as illustrated in ‘Railway Wonders of the World’. [3]
References
A.E. Durrant; The Mallet Locomotive; David & Charles, Newton Abbot, Devon, 1974.
Kevin Patience; Steam in East Africa; Heinemann Educational Books (E.A.) Ltd., Nairobi, 1976.
Uganda has begun restoring a disused branch of a railway line built under the British Empire, which it hopes will offer a cheaper way to transport goods to neighbouring countries. … Work has begun to restore nearly 400 kilometres of the tracks between Tororo in eastern Uganda, near the border with Kenya, and Gulu in the north, near South Sudan.
“Our ambition is to move all long-distance bulk cargo transportation onto rail from roads in a few years because rail is cheaper in terms of cost and time,” a spokesperson for for state-run Uganda Railways Corporation, John Linnon Sengendo, told Reuters news agency.
Uganda decided to revamp the old network after plans to build a separate, modern line failed to secure funding from China.
The government cancelled its contract with a Chinese firm earlier this year and is now seeking a new contractor for the project, which would see the construction of a standard gauge railway linking the Ugandan capital Kampala to the Kenyan border, where it would join up with Kenya’s modern lines.
Another Chinese contractor, China Road and Bridge Corporation, will repair the old line over two years at a cost of 200 billion shillings (50.6 million euros) to the Ugandan government, Sengendo said.
Uganda’s railway network fell into disrepair during the country’s economic collapse in 1970s and early ’80s.
Ugandan officials hope once the link is restored, rail will replace trucks in shipping transit goods to South Sudan and north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Under its East African Railway Master Plan, the East African Community regional bloc is aiming to revive lines serving Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and extend them to Rwanda and Burundi. Ultimately it hopes to add South Sudan and Ethiopia to the network too.
A recently relaid section of metre-gauge track in Kampala, (c) Sylvia Katushabe
Uganda’s planned overhaul of the metre gauge railway to cut transport costs on the Northern Corridor and improve trade competitiveness has entered its final stages, even as the country faces a shortage of equipment, wagons, and trains.
The EastAfrican has learnt [that] Spanish firm Imathia Construction has completed replacing steel sleepers with concrete beams on the Namanve-Kampala section of the line, which is expected to be handed over this month, Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) publicist John Lenon Sengendo said, adding that the contractor will then embark on the final section, Namanve-Mukono.
This will be the second section of the track to be completed after rehabilitation of the Tororo-Namanve line, including the line to Jinja Pier, which was completed a year ago. While the Malaba-Namanve metre gauge track is now in fair condition, importers, exporters, and shippers remain sceptical about switching to rail, citing a shortage of rolling stock and inefficiency, which has resulted in 90 percent of traffic on the Northern Corridor being carried by road and only about seven percent is carried by rail because of the poor state of rail infrastructure.
As a result, transport costs are comparatively high on the Northern Corridor, ranging from 20 cents to 25 cents per tonne per kilometre for road transport, while the cost for rail transport ranges from US cents 6 to US cent 12 per tonne per kilometre, depending on the type of cargo.
The shortage of rolling stock is partly blamed on URC. A June 2022 Uganda’s Auditor General after reviewing URC’s asset register, had 521 wagons located in different parts of Kenya.
But only 128 wagons exist, leaving a balance of 393 wagons unaccounted for, raising fears of a possibility of URC overstating its asset values in the financial statements.
[A] URC accounting officer explained that “there were many wagons left in Kenya by RVR (U) Ltd upon concession termination. A repatriation exercise to return these assets to Uganda commenced in July 2021 and by December 2021, a total of 243 wagons had been brought back.”
Under this project, Uganda is to buy 3,000 horsepower locomotives by 2026. The number of Uganda government-owned wagon ferries is also expected to increase from the current two to four, a development set to help URC meet the growing traffic demand on Lake Victoria.
The other financiers are the African Development Bank, which will provide $233.2 million, and the African Development Fund to provide $100.7 million – both concessional loans to finance the construction and purchase of rolling stock, which includes locomotives, wagons and coaches.
URC’s target is to move cargo from road to rail, and we expect to be moving six million tonnes a year.
In its efforts to revamp the metre gauge railway, Uganda is also reviving the route from Tororo in Eastern Uganda to Gulu City in the north. The line is currently under construction. Significantly, the city also hosts the Gulu Logistics Hub, whose phase one is also under construction. … The hub – which will be rail-linked – was planned as a strategic location connecting to the growing markets of Congo and South Sudan.
Kenyan government to spend $731m on new trains, SGR revamp
An SGR cargo train at the Naivasha Inland Container Depot in Kenya. Kenya’s National Treasury report shows Transport ministry will receive $714.7 million for the “Development of Standard Gauge Railway” between July this year and June 2026. [2]
The government of Kenya has stepped up expenditure on the Nairobi-Mombasa standard gauge railway (SGR) with a plan to hit Ksh100 billion ($731.53 million) in the next three years to revamp the line, build new sidings and buy more locomotives and cargo wagons.
A report by Kenya’s National Treasury shows that the country’s Transport ministry will receive an additional Ksh97.7 billion ($714.7 million) for the “Development of Standard Gauge Railway” between July this year and June 2026.
This reverses a trend where the previous government had cut allocations to the SGR and will push the spending related to this line beyond KSh780 billion ($5.7 billion) by June 2026.
Beginning July, the Kenyan government has allocated Ksh37.4 billion ($275.79 million) from the Railway Development Levy Fund (RDLF) for the Nairobi-Mombasa SGR.
A Mombasa-bound SGR passenger train on the extended viaduct in the ‘Maneaters Area’. The line is set at high level to allow the safe passage of wildlife, (c) Wachira Mwangi. [2]
The bulk of the allocation, according to the breakdown shared with the Business Daily from transport, has been earmarked for the acquisition of additional locomotives and freight wagons at a cost of Ksh11.9 billion ($87.1 million).
Kenya last bought its 1,620 locomotives and wagons from China in 2018.
State had no plans for extension – The allocations to transport ministry show that the government had no plans to extend the SGR beyond Naivasha to Kisumu and finally Malaba in the next three years.
The rest of the funds, which have been allocated under the “Mombasa to Nairobi SGR” vote will largely be used to build new feeder lines and rehabilitate the old metre gauge railway (MGR) lines.
Charged at the rate of two percent, the Railway Development Fund (RDF) is levied on all goods imported into the country for home use.
“The purpose of the levy shall be to provide funds for the construction of a standard gauge railway network in order to facilitate the transportation of goods,” reads part of the Miscellaneous Fees and Levies Act which establishes the kitty.
Budgetary allocations for the acquisition of locomotives and wagons are projected to increase to Ksh16 billion ($117 million) in Financial Year 2024/25 and Ksh22.2 billion ($162.4 million) in the Financial Year 2025/26 taking the total allocations for the three years to Ksh50.1 billion ($366.5 million).
Another Ksh5.9 billion ($43.16 million) will be spent on the rehabilitation, remanufacturing or overhaul of locomotives, wagons and coaches, according to a breakdown of the Ksh37.4 billion ($273.6 million) allocation.
The new feeder lines will link some of the sections of the modern railway such as the Mombasa SGR Terminus to critical urban centres.
This includes Ksh4.48 billion ($32.77 million) for the construction of the Riruta-Lenana-Ngong Railway Line and Ksh2.96 billion ($21.65 million) for the construction of a Railway Metro Line linking Embakasi Station and Ruai town.
In the next 12 months, the government will also build a new 2.8-kilometre Metre Gauge Railway (MGR) link from Mombasa SGR Terminus to Mombasa MGR station at a cost of Ksh2.5 billion ($18.29 million).
These funds will also be used to construct a railway bridge across the Makupa causeway that links Mombasa Island to the Kenyan mainland.
New MGR line – A new Metre Gauge Railway (MGR) line linking the Naivasha Inland Container Depot to the existing Longonot Railway Station has been allocated Ksh1.6 billion ($11.7 million) in the next financial calendar.
The construction of a Railway Metro Line connecting Athi River Station to the East African Portland Cement has been allocated Ksh400 million ($2.93 million).
This is projected to rise to Ksh1.17 billion ($8.56 million) in the Financial Year starting July next year and Sh1.36 billion in Financial Year 2025/26.
Another Railway Metro Line connecting Athi River Station to NSSF and Mavoko will absorb Ksh450 million ($3.3 million), a figure that is set to increase to Ksh1.56 billion ($11.4 million) and Ksh1.89 billion ($13.83 million) in 2024/25 and 2025/26.
The money will also be used to rehabilitate the line between Longonot and the Western border town of Malaba, which is aimed at facilitating the movement of cargo from the port city of Mombasa to Uganda.
Also in this border town, which is prone to congestion, the State plans to build Malaba Cargo Handling Yard. Around Ksh474 million ($3.45 million) has been set aside for this project.
Other spending items will be the acquisition of plant and equipment, which shall take up Ksh3.8 billion ($27.8 million) in the next fiscal year, Sh1.1 billion in Financial Year 2024/25 and Ksh600 million ($4.4 million) in the Financial Year 2025/26.
Logistics Hub – A logistics hub is planned for Athi River with the state putting aside Ksh1.125 billion ($8.23 million).
The allocation for this planned logistics hub will reduce to Ksh375 million ($2.74 million) in the year ending June 2025.
Initial plans were to extend the SGR to Uganda; however, this has since stalled with the Treasury not getting funds for the extension to Kisumu and finally to Malaba.
Murkomen at the beginning of this year said the Kenya Kwanza administration in partnership with the Chinese government is keen on extending the SGR from Naivasha’s Mai Mahiu to the border of Uganda through a five-year plan that will see the multibillion-dollar railway line run through Narok, Bomet, Nyamira, Kisumu, and Malaba.
“In the long run, we would like to complete the connection of the SGR from Suswa to Kisumu through Bomet, Nyamira, parts of Kisii and later to Malaba. Later, we can think of upgrading the existing MGR via Nakuru to Kisumu and via Eldoret to Malaba,” he said on December 15, 2022.
With the additional expenditure, the government hopes the country’s most expensive piece of infrastructure will help to grow the economy and improve the standard of living for Kenyans.
The administration of former President Uhuru Kenyatta borrowed Ksh656.1 billion ($4.8 billion) in three tranches for the construction of the two phases of the SGR, contributing to a major build-up of Kenya’s stock of debt.
Kenya will use Ksh11.9 billion ($87 million) to acquire rolling stock that will be used to ferry cargo on the SGR from Mombasa to Naivasha.
Grand $15 billion plan to expand Kenya SGR to Kisumu, Malaba, Isiolo
The standard gauge railway line at the Naivasha Inland Container Depot, a transhipment hub for Kenya’s SGR from Mombasa, which is to extend to the proposed Malaba railway line in Uganda. [3]
Kenya has set sights on a Ksh2.1 trillion ($15.3 billion) plan to extend the standard gauge railway (SGR) to Kisumu, Malaba and Isiolo by the end of June 2027, a government document seen by the Business Daily shows.
According to the plan, the State Department of Transport will build another 2,746 kilometres of the SGR at $15.3 billion, a move that will push the total spend on the modern railway to more than Ksh2.75 trillion ($20 billion).
The plan, lifted from the Jubilee Government’s grand scheme on SGR (so far Kenya’s most expensive project), is part of the Ksh3.42 trillion ($24.9 billion) Lamu Port South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset).
Lapsset is aimed at opening up northern Kenya and revamping the northern corridor by spurring movement within Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia.
It is an ambitious scheme that will not only see the modern railway reach the border town of Malaba via Kisumu, as it was initially envisioned, but also Isiolo, Moyale and the island of Lamu.
The line will move from Mariakani in Mombasa County to Lamu to Isiolo. From Isiolo, the SGR will be connected to the northeastern town of Moyale which borders Ethiopia.
From Isiolo, the government will extend the SGR to Nairobi, connecting the country’s capital city and commercial hub to northern Kenya and finally to Ethiopia.
From Naivasha, the SGR is extended to Malaba through Kisumu.
The bulk of the financing for these additional kilometres of the SGR, around Ksh1.8 trillion ($13 billion), will be from external financiers that the document has not revealed while the rest will come from the Kenyan government.
So far, the SGR from Mombasa to Naivasha has been financed by the Chinese at a total cost of Ksh656.1 billion ($4.7 billion)
The longest stretch of the planned SGR, 753.2 kilometres, will be from Isiolo to Nakodok, a small town near the border between Kenya and South Sudan.
The Transport Ministry, headed by Kipchumba Murkomen, has cost this phase of the SGR at Ksh443.2 billion ($3.2 billion).
From Lamu to Isiolo, a distance of 544.4 kilometres, the Ruto administration plans to build the rail line at Ksh348.7 billion ($2.5 billion).
From Isiolo to Moyale, a distance of 475.9 kilometres, the country is expected to use Ksh317.8 billion ($2.3 billion) to build a new SGR line.
The line connecting Mariakani to Lamu of 325.3 kilometres will cost Ksh257.3 billion ($1.8 billion).
Locations on Kenya’s planned SGR network. [3]
There will be another line of 278 kilometres connecting Nairobi to Isiolo that will consume Ksh239.2 billion ($1.7 billion).
Phase 2B of the SGR from Naivasha to the lakeside city of Kisumu will cost Sh380 billion while the last leg, 2C, from Kisumu to Malaba bordering Uganda will take another Ksh122.9 billion ($896 million).
The document from the State Department of Transport reveals what appears like a near-impossible feat of the government wanting to complete the entire transport circuit in four years from 2023 to 2027.
Although the ministry’s document indicates that construction of these railway lines is to begin at the start of July this year, no budgetary allocation has been made for the SGR for the next three financial years.
In 2014, the government entered into a tripartite agreement with the governments of Rwanda and Uganda to construct a standard gauge railway from Mombasa through Kampala to Kigali, Rwanda.
However, the SGR ended abruptly in Naivasha with China reportedly declining to finance the last leg of the modern railway after failing to strike an agreement with Uganda.
The new administration of President Ruto has rekindled plans to complete the SGR.
Through a partnership with the Chinese government, Mr Murkomen said earlier this year the government wanted to extend the SGR from Naivasha’s Mai Mahiu to the border of Uganda through a five-year plan that will see the multibillion-dollar railway line run through Narok, Bomet, Nyamira, Kisumu, and finally Malaba.
“In the long run, we would like to complete the connection of the SGR from Suswa to Kisumu through Bomet, Nyamira, parts of Kisii and later to Malaba. Later, we can think of upgrading the existing MGR via Nakuru to Kisumu and via Eldoret to Malaba,” the CS said in a statement on December 15 last year.
The Transport Ministry has been allocated Ksh100 billion ($729 million) from the Railway Development Levy Fund (RDLF) for the next three years to revamp the existing SGR line from Mombasa to Naivasha via Nairobi and build new sidings.
The money will also be used to buy more locomotives and cargo wagons, which are aimed at improving the freight capacity of the modern railway which is still facing cut-throat competition from trucks.
Plans to revamp the SGR involve mostly building new metre gauge railway (MGR) or rehabilitating them.
New Concrete Sleepers for the Metre-Gauge in Uganda
New Vision reported that, on 1st September 2023, President Yoweri Museveni opened a new Concrete sleeper making facility at Kawolo, Buikwe District, Kampala. The sleepers are to be used in the rehabilitation of the metre-gauge railway line.
The traditional steel sleepers are no longer in favour. Thefts and vandalism mean that alternatives have had to be sought. [6]
The old steel sleepers on the right. The new concrete sleepers in ballast on the left. [7]
The sleepers are being used on the Kampala to Namanve line before being rolled out to other projects. The construction of the factory valued at over 19 million Euros (about 76 billion Uganda Shillings) started in June 2020.
On-going work on the Kampala to Namanve line. [8]
The use of concrete sleepers on the suburban lines will be supplemented by the procurement of diesel multiple units and additional coaches.
“In August 2020, URC said the Government had secured funding from the Spanish government and African Development Bank (AfDB) to the tune of shillings 1.3 trillion to revamp the Metre Gauge Railway by rehabilitating about 250 kilometres from Malaba to Kampala.” [6]
On 1st February 2024, work on the Kampala to Namanve line was close to completion and a predicted opening in March 2024. [9]
Kenya Railways puts proposed Lapsset SGR costs at $16 billion: bulk on Isiolo-Nakodok line
Kenya will need at least Ksh 2.4 trillion ($16 billion) to construct a proposed Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) on the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (Lapsset) corridor, according to projections by the Kenya Railways Corporation.
According to the parastatal, it would cost Ksh 523.05 billion ($3.49 billion) to build a 544.4 km SGR link to connect Lamu and Isiolo and a further Ksh 476.7 billion ($3.178 billion) to extend the line from Isiolo to Moyale over a distance of 475.9 km.
The largest spending would be on constructing the SGR line from Isiolo to Nakodok town on the border between Kenya and South Sudan over a distance of 753.2 km at a cost of Ksh664.65 billion ($4.431 billion).
Kenya Railways has estimated that a further Ksh 358.8 billion ($2.392 billion) will be required to link Isiolo and Nairobi via SGR over a distance of 278.6 km and a further Ksh 385.95 billion ($2.573 billion) for the 325.35 km stretch between Lamu and Mariakani.
The entire stretch will cover a total of 2,377.45 km, translating into a cost of Ksh 1 billion ($6.667 million) for every kilometre of the SGR.
But the cost of undertaking such a colossal venture, which would be by far the most expensive in Kenya’s history, will be far higher than Kenya Railways’ estimates considering the company did the costing at an exchange of Ksh150/US dollar.
The parastatal has nonetheless expressed confidence in raising Ksh275.9 billion ($1.84 billion) or 11.4 percent of the total project cost by the financial year 2027/28 through funding from the government, collections from the Railway Development Levy Fund (RDLF) and loans.
Kenya in 2014 began construction of Phase 1 of the SGR line between Mombasa and Nairobi covering 472km. Phase 2A Nairobi-Naivasha (120km) was constructed in 2017. The project was funded by a $5.08 billion loan from China.
“The SGR line has led to expansion of the Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Nairobi at Embakasi, and construction of the ICD – Naivasha at Mai Mahiu,” said Kenya Railways.
The firm added: “This has contributed to decongestion of the seaport of Mombasa and facilitated seamless transit of goods destined to Western Kenya and neighbouring countries.”
Already, two studies have been undertaken to explore the feasibility of a Lapsset corridor railway by Japan Port Consultants in 2009 and China Civil Engineering Construction Company (2015). The latter study estimated the cost of the project at $10.4 billion with a financial rate of return of between nine percent and 12 percent.
The proposal to build an SGR line along the Lapsset corridor is however not feasible yet as the Lapsset project has failed to take off due to lack of funding as well as insecurity. Kenya is also facing a huge debt pile which has been worsened by the rapid depreciation of the Kenyan shilling leading to a surge in foreign currency external loans.
This post includes a selection of news items about Kenya Railways in the period from 2018 to the Autumn of 2022. The items included are by no means exhaustive but they might be of interest! ……..
The Birth of a Nation: preserving records on the Kenya-Uganda railway line (EAP1143)
In 2018 the British Library funded a small pilot project undertaken in Nairobi Railway Museum’s archive. This was a low cost 6 month pilot which identified the condition of the archived documents and photographs and improved storage and access to them.
The photographs which were digitised all seem to predate the construction of the railway and document the life and times of people who lived on its route. [1]
The Standard-Gauge Line
In 2018, NPR reported that the “Standard Gauge Railway station in Nairobi is easily the most impressive public building in Kenya.” [8] The station is “adventurous. It’s all gray and modern. Geometric shapes form an abstract locomotive, and red neon announces the “Nairobi Terminus.”” [8]
The Standard-gauge Railway Station at Nairobi. [8]
NPR continues: “The train runs 293 miles from Kenya’s capital city to the port of Mombasa and back twice a day and represents the biggest infrastructure project since Kenya’s independence 54 years ago. The Chinese financed it; a Chinese company built it; and the Chinese will operate it for many years to come. … The project, which launched in the summer of 2017, has not only come to signify Kenya’s ambitions, but also China’s ambitions on the African continent. In the past decade, China has become the biggest lender to governments in Africa. The money has helped build ports, roads, bridges, airports and trains. But critics warn the loans are full of traps that could leave African countries in the lurch. Kenya alone owes $5.3 billion to China.” [8]
On 16th October 2019, VOA News reported that Kenya opened the second phase of the Standard Gauge Railway Project: “Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta officially opened on Wednesday the second phase of his flagship infrastructure project: a Chinese-funded and built railway that will eventually link the port of Mombasa to Uganda. … The latest stretch of track cost $1.5 billion and runs from Nairobi to the Rift Valley town of Naivasha.” [9]
After the official opening, the president then joined the first ride along the line. … “The train stopped at every station, where a cheering crowd awaited the president. He promised them that the new railway will bring prosperity. … Kenyatta said that if the railway comes here, development also comes here.” [9]
The new track is 120 kilometers (75 miles) long and has 12 stations. Passengers can ride the trains, but the railway is mainly for cargo. The track will eventually lead to an inland container depot, (see below) from where containers will be distributed to Uganda and Rwanda, and to South Sudan. [9]
On 20th August 2021 the Ugandan newspaper, ‘The Independent’ reported that Kenya’s Standard-gauge railway line transported 2.31 million tons of cargo between January and the end of May that year: “an increase of about 45 percent from the similar period in 2020, according to data released on Thursday from the Kenya Railways Corporation.” [10]
“The rise in cargo volumes saw an increase in revenue generated during the months to 6.2 billion shillings (about 57 million U.S. dollars), up from 41.4 million dollars generated from January to May in 2020, it said. … The number of passengers using the train during the first five months of 2021 nearly doubled amid COVID-19 pandemic. … Some 601,201 passengers were ferried between the capital Nairobi and the coastal city of Mombasa during the period, up from 330,232 in 2020 when the country grappled with COVID-19 pandemic, the corporation said. … This generated revenue of 5.9 million dollars, up from 3.3 million dollars generated between January and May in 2020.” [10]
Refurbishment of Nairobi Central Station
Major renovations at Nairobi Central Station began on 27th July 2020. By January 2021, the work was well-advanced. Kenya Railways reported that the work would facilitate the use of the new DMUs due to arrive in the country.
Renovation work at Nairobi Central Station in January 2021. [5]
Kenya Railways stated on 13th January 2021 that, “as the rehabilitation works continue[d], stringent measures [were] put in place to safeguard daily commuters as they access[ed] the station.” [5]
Designated boarding points were set for various trains to facilitate safe movement of passengers within the Nairobi Central Station. For instance, Kikuyu and Ruiru trains, the boarding point was designated on the Western end of the Nairobi Central Station and it was to be accessed from Railways Police station. While passengers boarding Syokimau & SGR Link trains boarded the trains from the Eastern end of the station with the access point being adjacent to Guava restaurant.
Kenya Railways stated that, “The rehabilitation of Nairobi Central Station will not only give it a new face but also show KR is dedicated in making transportation better.” [5]
Plans for the full renewal of Nairobi Central Station were published in May 2022. The project has been sponsored by both the British and Kenyan Governments.
Design office view of the proposed renewed Central Station. [6]
THE British and Kenyan governments unveiled the final design of Nairobi’s new Central Railway Station and surrounding public area, which has been developed as part of the Nairobi Railway City redevelopment programme. [6]
The IRJ reported that, “The design was developed by SNC-Lavalin subsidiary Atkins and submitted to Kenya Railways and the Ministry of Transport. … The station is designed to accommodate up to 30,000 passengers per hour at peak periods, and will have 6000m2 of concourse space. The station will offer a new covered public space for the city with retail outlets and other amenities …. It features separate entrance and exit routes to avoid conflicting flows and ensure passengers can get to and from the platforms efficiently. … Three existing platforms will be joined by six additional passenger platforms, and four dedicated freight lines will be built. Two platform bridges will be built, with one for passengers entering the station and one for passengers exiting.” [6]
A few design office perspective views are shown below:
The SGR to MGR link at Naivasha
In July 2022, President Uhuru Kenyatta officially commissioned the Standard Gauge Railway – Metre Gauge Railway Passenger Rail Link at the Kenya Railways Mai Mahiu Station in Naivasha, Nakuru County. The ceremony took place on Tuesday, 26th July 2022.
The 5km link will enable passengers traveling to Western Kenya by train to switch from the standard-gauge service to that of the metre-gauge and vice versa. Kenya Railways reported that it would as a result be possible to travel exclusively by rail from Mombasa through Kilifi, Kwale, Taita Taveta, Makueni, Machakos, Kijiado and Nairobi onwards to Nakuru, Kisumu, Eldoret, Kitale, Nyahururu, Nanyuki, Malaba and Bungoma. [2]
Naivasha Inland Container Depot
On the same day (26th July 2022) the Naivasha Inland Container Depot (ICD) was officially opened by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The Naivasha ICD facility which incorporates both the Standard Gauge Railway and the Metre Gauge Railway line will handle mainly transit cargo to the Great Lakes Region including Uganda, South Sudan, DR Congo, Northern Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi, which account for around 30% of imports and exports through the Port of Mombasa.
The SGR/MGR Link referred to above will greatly facilitate the transshipment process. All Transit cargo can now be delivered to the facility straight from the Port of Mombasa as either Through Bill of Lading (TBL) or merchant haulage (Non-TBL), while exports and empty containers can also be consolidated at the Naivasha ICD and railed to the Port of Mombasa for onward shipping.
Kenya Railways reported that, “The depot is linked to the Mombasa Port container terminal by a rail-tainer service on the Mombasa to Suswa Standard Gauge Railway line. It will serve to bring port services closer to customers and reduce congestion at the Port of Mombasa, Nairobi Inland Container Depot and on the roads. It is convenient for East African partner states who will not have to cover an entire 572 kilometres by road between Mombasa and Naivasha. From Naivasha ICD to Malaba Railway Yard, cargo will be transported over 36 hours and it will cost $860.”
Kenya Railways also affirmed that, “The Naivasha ICD includes a one-stop centre for ease of operations and efficient service delivery. The port houses all the Government agencies involved in handling of cargo namely Kenya Railways, Kenya Ports Authority, Kenya Revenue Authority, Kenya Bureau of Standards, Port Health (Public Health) and Revenue Authority officers from partner states of Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.” [3]
Nakuru Railway Station
President Uhuru Kenyatta officially commissioned the revitalized 217km Nakuru-Kisumu Metre-Gauge Railway (MGR) and the 465km Longonot–Malaba segment as well as the refurbished Nakuru Railway Station.
Kenya Railways reported on 28th July 2022 that the re-commissioning had taken place: “The iconic Nakuru Railway Station is a key transit station for cargo and passenger train services to and from Western Kenya, and is the aggregation hub for farm produce from the agriculturally rich Central Rift region for onward freight to the Coast for export.” [4]
“Nakuru town started as a railway station on Kenyan-Uganda railway line at the turn of 20th century. It was built in 1900 and later expanded in 1957. It sits on the east side of the centre of Nakuru. The town is part of the famous ‘White Highlands settlement’ areas established by the British during the colonial era. The areas surrounding Nakuru town are mainly known for their vast agricultural potential especially cash-crop farming i.e wheat, barley, pyrethrum, sisal, maize and beans. Nakuru Railway Station was built in order to serve the rapidly growing economy of the town.” [4]
Refurbished Nakuru Railway Station [7]
“Later branch lines were built to link the station to farming areas. Among these was the line linking the station to the sisal producing Solai area. Just 6.9 kilometres from Nakuru town lies Nakuru Junction station. This is the point at which the lines to Malaba and Kisumu diverge.” [4]
Suburban Services in Nairobi
Nairobi Commuter Rail Services now run regularly to Ruiru, Embakasi Village, Limuru, Syokimau and Lukenya in Kitengela. There is also a Madaraka Express Commuter Service that operates between Nairobi Terminus and Ngong station and a link service between Nairobi Central Station and the Standard-gauge Station runs at 0630hrs, 1200hrs and 2010hrs each day. [11]
From late April to mid May 2018 my wife and I were in Uganda. This was my 6th visit to the country. On the first, in 1994, I travelled to Kampala from Mombasa on the railway. It was a fantastic journey in a slow moving train with silver service in the dining car and with beds made up for us by staff each night. There were two separate trains, a njght train from Mkmbasa to Nairobi run by the then Kenya Railways and a train from Nairobi to Kampala run by Uganda Railways.
The track is metre-gauge.
This short series of posts tells the story of the line to 2018 and then looks forward from that year into the future. In recent times the railway system in Uganda has had a chequered history and had been relatively badly managed, as you will see. The present network is in a dilapidated state. The network is shown in the image below.
The country of Uganda has about 1,350 kms of railway lines and most of it has not been operational for over 25 years. Repairs had been completed on the Tororo-Gulu line and were still ongoing on the Gulu-Pakwach Line in early 2014. [1]
The railway originating at Mombasa on the Indian Ocean connects to Tororo in Uganda, where it branches westward to Jinja, Kampala, and Kasese and northward to Mbale, Soroti, Lira, Gulu, and Pakwach (to the south-east of Arua and on the northern edge of the Murchison Falls National Park – the Pakwach Bridge crosses the White Nile close to the town).
There was no chance, in 2018, for me to check out the railway system. After a very short stay in Kampala we spent the rest of our time in the south-west of the country in Kyegegwa, Rukungiri and Kisoro.
Back in 1994, I was taking slides and being very careful not to exhaust my supply of film. How much things have changed! I do have four pictures, taken at Mombasa railway station, of coaches from the early to mid 20th Century which were stored among slightly more modern stock, at least three seemed still to be in use. …..
The Uganda Railway was built during what became known as the Scramble for Africa, (the struggle between European powers for dominance in Africa). It provided a strategic link between the coast at Mombasa and the Great Lakes region. In doing so, it effectively secured British domination of the region.[2],[3]
The Uganda Railway was named for its ultimate destination. Its original length of 660 miles (or 1056 kilometres) lay entirely in what we now call Kenya.
Work on the railway began at the port of Mombasa, in what was then called British East Africa, in 1896. The intended terminus at Kisumu on the shores of Lake Victoria was reached in 1901.[2],[4]
Construction was carried out principally by labourers from the Indian subcontinent, 32,000 of whom were brought in because of a lack of local labour in very sparcely populated areas of East Africa. The horrendous truth is that the line was built on the lives of those labourers. 2,498 workers died during the construction of the railway.[2],[5] An artists impression of the work is shown in the image below (courtesy of Charan Kundi).
Many of the labourers returned to India but 6,724 decided to remain after the line’s completion, creating a community of Indian East Africans.
The railway is, almost in its entirety, single-track. A massive logistical exercise was put in place to import from India a very significant amount of steelwork – rails; fishplates and bolts; keys; and girders. Over 1.2 million sleepers were also required. To secure the necessary throughput of materials, Kilindini Harbour ws created in Mombasa. “The railway was a huge logistical achievement and became strategically and economically vital for both Uganda and Kenya. It helped to suppress slavery, by removing the need for humans in the transport of goods.” [2],[6]
The railway line had a significant impact. It effectively created Uganda and Kenya as the countries that they became. As we have already noted, the railway defeated the slave trade in British East Africa. It allowed heavy equipment to be transported with relative ease.
The use of indian sub-continent labour resulted in a very significant minority of Asians in East Africa. These Indians worked as “dukawallas” (shopkeepers), artisans, traders, clerks, and, finally, lower-level administrators. Excluded from the middle and senior ranks of the colonial government and from farming, they became a commercial middleman and professional community.[7] The British administration encouraged European settlement and farms were set up for coffee and tea production with the railway available to ensure easy shipping to Europe for processing. As the numbers of settlers and farms increased native populations became alienated from their land and seeds were sown for the later struggle for independence. At the same time, inceeases in white settlement made demands on the railway. New small stations were required to allow transportation of agricultural produce. These stations included: Nakuru, Naivasha, Tigoni, Kijabe and Sigona.
In addition, the railway contributed to increased urbanisation. Many of today’s towns in Kenya, and some in Uganda, have reulted from the presence of the railway. Mombasa urbanisation can be traced to the start of the construction of the line. Nairobi was a rail depot placed in the middle of a swamp, and is now the capital of Kenya. Other towns for which this is true are … Kikuyu, Naivasha, Nakuru (where the main line splits, one branch going to Kisumu and the other to Uganda), Nanyuki, Eldoret (originally called “64″ its distance, in miles, from the railhead at the time), Kitale (a small farming community in the foothills of Mount Elgon), Kisumu (then called port Florence, a city and port on Lake Victoria allowing ferry transport between Kenya, Tanganyika (modern Tanzania) and Uganda), Port Bell (a rail-linked port, near to Kampala, on Lake Victoria allowing ferry transport between Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda), and Jinja.
Tourism also began to develop. “The railway provided a ‘modern’ means of transport from the East African coast to the higher plateaus of the interior. US president Theodore Roosevelt is one of the notable people who had safari adventures aboard a train in the early days of the use of the Kenya-Uganda railway.”[7]
The railway also opened up the interior to systematic government programmes to attack slavery, witchcraft, disease and famine. [7]
We have already heard that close to 2,500 of the 32,000 workers on the line died during its construction. There are two particular causes worthy of significant note.
The first concerns the death of a number of conctruction workers in 1898 during the building of a bridge across the Tsavo River. Hunting mainly at night, a pair of maneless male lions stalked and killed at least 28 Indian and African workers – although some accounts put the number of victims as high as 135.[2],[8] The picture above shows one of the two lions and Lieutenant-Colonel John H Petterson who killed it.
The second concerns resistance from locals. Building the railway met local resistance on various occasions. A major incident was the Kedong Massacre, when the Maasai attacked a railway worker’s caravan killing around 500 people because two Maasai girls had been raped. An Englishman unconnected to the railway, Andrew Dick, led a counter-attack against them, but ran out of ammunition and was speared to death by the Maasai.[2],[9] At the turn of the 20th century, the railway construction was disturbed by the resistance of the Nandi people led by Koitalel Arap Samoei. He was killed in 1905 by Richard Meinertzhagen, finally ending the Nandi resistance.[2],[9]
Some of the socio-economic background to the construction of the Uganda Railway will be considered in later articles in this series.
3. Richard T. Ogonda & George M. Onyango; Development of Transport and Communication. In William Robert Ochieng’;Historical Studies and Social Change in Western Kenya. Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers, 2002. p219–231.
4. Richard T. Ogonda; Transport and Communications in the Colonial Economy. In William Robert Ochieng’ & R. M. Maxon; An Economic History of Kenya. Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers, 1992. p129–146.
5. Christian Wolmar; Blood, Iron & Gold: How the Railways Transformed the World. London: Atlantic Books, 2009.
6. Frank Richardson Cana; British East Africa. In Hugh Chisholm. Encyclopædia Britannica. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press, 1911. p601–606.
Roger Farnworth 
