Double-track solution?
A new standard-gauge railway line built by the Chinese in Kenya could soon face competition from the old metre-gauge line dating from the colonial era. Track upgrades are more than welcome, in the light of the difficult infrastructure situation in Kenya.
Africa hasn’t exactly been at the centre of many people’s attention in the West in recent years. However, following the progress of ongoing infrastructure projects there, for example in the two-tier rail sector in Kenya in East Africa, is definitely worthwhile.
The Kenyan railway sector consists of a new standard-gauge railway (SGR) from Mombasa to Nairobi, financed, built and operated by China; and of the metre-gauge railway (MGR), from colonial times.
Flat spots on the SGR
Since the Chinese-built turnkey standard-gauge railway line between Mombasa and Nairobi was commissioned in 2017, some substantial flat spots (to stay in railway parlance for a moment) have been ascertained both in the operator’s revenues and in its earnings. The rumblings have affected both the freight as well as the passenger sectors.
Unfortunately, the Chinese operating company’s operating costs have been almost twice as high, so far, as the revenue it has been able to generate. The Kenyan state has to balance the deficit. On top of this Kenya also has to service the concomitant debts arising from loans for the project.
In the difficult year 2020, freight volumes only stood slightly below the figure for the previous year. China will probably have to agree to renegotiate the loans soon. Whether it will demand and receive (further) collateral for this remains to be seen.
Reviving the metre-gauge railway
The metre-gauge railway (MGR), run by the state-owned enterprise Kenya Railways (KR), was built in 1896. The total length of tracks formally comes to 2,778 km – but large sections are in disrepair. However, the old line from the port of Mombasa via the capital Nairobi to Kisumu, on Lake Victoria, and Malaba, on the border with Uganda, still forms the backbone of the network.
In January the KR CEO reminded the industry of a presidential order to "rehabilitate the national railway system and make it operational." The rehabilitation projects address sections of lines covering 936 km.
The China Road and Bridge Corporation is carrying out the re-commissioning of the network, partly on its own initiative. 400 youngsters from the National Youth Service and soldiers from the Kenya Defense Forces are currently deployed on the Gilgil–Nyahururu section, for example.
They are clearing the vegetation on the railway tracks and in the clearance gauge above the line manually, are repairing the railway embankment’s drainage systems and are reinforcing the track beds. Ballast material has to be applied manually, on account of the steel sleepers used.
Further investment is being made in overhauling the rolling stock, leasing locomotives and constructing tank facilities and stations. The restoration of the old network is sometimes delayed by vandalism and theft. In Nakuru, for example, 400 rail fasteners and 13 steel sleepers were stolen in one day in early 2021. Security personnel has been recruited to take decisive action against this.
Upgrading the MGR to Kisumu and Malaba is important for trade and industry in Kenya, with its neighbours and for China, especially in the light of uncertainty concerning the extension of construction of the SGR from Nairobi or Naivasha to Uganda. The MGR might be a better solution for forwarders and shippers than the SGR option to Nairobi.
