Barely two weeks to the launch of the Standard Gauge Railway’s (SGR) Mombasa-Nairobi commuter service, the government has affirmed that all is is on course.

However, commencement of cargo freight services will be delayed until December due to slow expansion and modernisation of the Nairobi Inland Container Depot (ICD).

Transport Principal Secretary, Paul Mwangi said the commuter service will start as scheduled, adding that the government was keen to optimise the SGR for freight transport, both locally and to Uganda, Rwanda Burundi, South Sudan and DRC

He, however, said the freight operations will start in December, in accordance with the commitment made in the Mombasa Port Community Charter, signed in June 2014.

Mwangi spoke at the Mombasa port when he received additional 17 freight locomotives, six shunting locomotives, 50 flat wagons for containers and four unit cranes for use in the SGR operations.

He said consultations are going on to come up with reasonable fare charges before the official launch. “We urge Kenyans not to worry, we are going to set reasonable charges from commuters which are likely to be cheaper compared to buses,” said the PS.

The consignment was offloaded under the supervision of the PS, Kenya Railways Corporation engineers, China Road and Bridge Corporation, the EPC contractor for Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway project, and the project supervisor, TSDI-APEC-EDON Consortium (Taec).

So far, the country has received 25 freight locomotives out of the 43 on order; the full order of five passenger and eight shunting locomotives, the full order of 40 Passenger coaches, and 763 Wagons out of the 1,620 on order.

The railway will operate both freight and passenger trains and being a single line, 33 crossing stations have been provided to facilitate crossing of trains.

Source: The Kenyan Today

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