Kenya Railways has conducted its first trial freight train on the newly constructed link connecting the Standard Gauge Railway and Meter Gauge Railway in Naivasha. The cargo destined for Malaba was loaded at the Mombasa port and transported via the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), where it was then transshipped onto the Metre Gauge Railway (MGR) line at the Naivasha Inland Container Depot (NICD).
Investors transporting cargo through the SGR can now enjoy seamless transportation of their cargo from the Port of Mombasa to Malaba and to the East African region in a safe, reliable and cost-effective way. This is following the operationalization of the Standard Gauge Railway and Meter Gauge railway link line in Naivasha.
Speaking at the event held at the Naivasha Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Maai Mahiu, Kenya Railways Managing Director Philip Mainga said the cooperation had successfully run the first trial freight train on the newly constructed link. He added that the ICD facility had a capacity to handle 120,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEUs) annually and that it will handle mostly transit cargo to the Great Lakes Region including Uganda, South Sudan, DR Congo, Northern Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi.
Mainga also assured local clients that they would be offered 30 days of free storage with quick cargo processing and transshipment onto wagons at the Naivasha ICD. “We will have regular, speedy and reliable delivery of cargo through well-organized trains schedules with strict timetables for the evacuation of cargo and empty container repatriation from the Inland Container Terminals,” added Mr. Mainga.