On May 31, 2018, the eve of the 55th anniversary of Madaraka Day, Kenya marked the first anniversary of the standard gauge railway (SGR), codenamed the Madaraka Express.

President Uhuru Kenyatta launched the Mombasa-Nairobi part of the project on November 28, 2013, and flagged off the maiden passenger and cargo trains a year ago, 18 months ahead of schedule.

The Chinese dream meets the Kenya dream in the SGR and Madaraka Express, built by the China Road and Bridge Corporation with 90 per cent of the funding from the China Exim Bank and the remaining 10 per cent from Kenya.

The SGR is a flagship project under Vision 2030 development agenda aimed at making Kenya a middle income country in the next 12 years.

MADARAKA EXPRESS

At another level, Madaraka Express reflects China’s “new deal for Africa”. It is also part of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Beijing’s development strategy that seeks to link and integrate humanity into one inter-connected community of shared future.

Like the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, the railway is Uhuru Kenyatta’s inerasable legacy. When completed, the line will run for a total of 3,200 kilometers (1,989 miles) from Mombasa on the Indian Ocean seaboard to Malaba on the Ugandan border, ultimately ending at the Atlantic Coast.

With the Mombasa-Nairobi line (472 km) already completed, work on the Nairobi-Malaba section (520 km) is under way, expected to branch to Kisumu (174 km).

Also forming part of this railway network are the proposed Nairobi-Moyale line (700km) and the Lamu-Nadapal (South Sudan) line (1,300km).

Under the East African Railway Master Plan, the Mombasa–Nairobi SGR will link up with other standard-gauge railways being built in East Africa.

Madaraka Express is a Kenyan idea, reflecting the new pan-African thinking that Africa must define its own destiny with external partners providing support as needed.

EXTRAVAGANT SPENDING

In this context, the railway is not a wasteful adventure into extravagant spending or a conspiracy to burden future generations with external debts. Nor is it China’s “colonisation” of Africa or the hyped “new scramble for Africa”.

The project brings the 21st century railroad technology to power the African Union’s Agenda 2063. Based on a modern “standard gauge” (1,435mm) unlike the meter gauge old line, Madaraka Express eliminates the technological isolation and balkanisation of the continent, thus defying the legacy of colonial-era lines that had little regard for interconnection of the continent.

Ferrying 1,100 passengers, the train has the largest carrying capacity, bigger than Boeing, A380 or approximately 18 buses plying Kenya’s long-distant routes.

Further designed with an axle-load of 25 tonnes, it is hauling up to 22 million tonnes of cargo per year at a speed of 80-100km per hour.

The train has provided speed. The passenger train is moving at a top speed of 120 kilometers per hour. It is taking one hour thirty minutes compared to 24 hours by previous passenger trains or over 10 hours by regular passenger buses.

CARGO TRAIN

The SGR is pushing the carrying capacity of Kenyan railways to whole new levels. The cargo train is designed to haul 22 million tonnes per year. Last year it transported 25,000 containers between Nairobi and Mombasa.

It is emerging as Kenya’s most profitable venture, poised to pay itself in a short while. The passenger service has made Ksh1.1 billion ($11 million) in one year.

Although prices of the economy ticket went up from Ksh700 ($7) to 1,000 ($10), overall seat occupancy remained at nearly 97 per cent with some passengers booking 30 days earlier.

Last year, the railway  made about 1,142 trips, transporting over 1.3 million passengers.

A robust and vibrant railway system has many benefits for society. This is true of the Standard Gauge Railway.

The railway has reduced congestion at the the port of Mombasa and secured the port from competition from other ports.

Moreover, the railway has reduced congestion on Kenyan highways. By June 2017, truckers were handling more than 95 per cent of the freight from Mombasa port.

HEAVY TRUCKS

The railway has reduced the number of heavy trucks on the road, minimised wear and tear on highways and whittled down the cost of maintenance by nearly 30 per cent.

Kenyans can now enjoy the world’s safest form of transport with minimal chances of accidents and breakdown of railways. It is the only mode of transport without safety belts on the seats!

The new railway network is supporting efforts to diversify the economy and enhance East Africa’s export potential. The new line has spurred the growth of Kenya’s GDP by at least 1.5 per cent.

“Railway stations can become growth points for the nearby villages”, said Indian Prime Minister Naredra Modi.  The Mombasa-Nairobi line has attracted new investments in homes, offices, markets and settlements along the railroad. The value of land around it has increased, and inspired the growth of new towns.

With the introduction of the railway, hotel occupancy in Mombasa has increased from 50 pc last year to 90 pc this year. The railway has also boosted domestic and international tourism, employment and incomes.

It has supported many jobs directly and indirectly, hiring 25,000 Kenyans to work on the railway.

NEW BUSINESS

The railway has created a new enabling environment for investments, and provided opportunities for new business. It is providing a solid foundation for Kenya’s industrialisation.

The electrification of the line, now under way at a cost of Sh49 billion, will give Kenya its first green transport.

SGR is Africa’s most audacious railway project. Kenya is a member of the Northern Corridor Integration Project (NCIP), which has selected the Chinese National Railway Class 1 standard for its railways. The adoption of a common standard allows for seamless integration between the railways of NCIP countries.

The SGR, expected to extend to the Uganda border by 2021, is deepening regional economic inter-dependence and potentially opening a market of nearly 400 million people (Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Northern Tanzania, Eastern DRC, Southern Sudan and Ethiopia).

Madaraka Express is a huge land bridge potentially linking the Indian Ocean seaboard with the Atlantic coast.

Railways are linked to the rise of powers such as the United States, China and Russia. In this sense, the new railway paves the way for Africa’s emergence as a major global power.

Source: Daily Nation