In Summary
- The trains’ daily tonnage has increased to over 800 containers, out of the 1,700 that arrive at the port of Mombasa.
- Truckers, container freight stations (CFSs), and clearing agents continue to count losses, with some logistics companies reported to have resorted to restructuring that has seen thousands of job losses.
- With the government keen on transporting about 250,000 containers by train by the end of the year, there will certainly be more job losses in the port-related economy.
Ten months after the launch of Kenya’s cargo service on the standard gauge railway line between Mombasa and Nairobi, it has turned out to be a double-edged sword.
In its first nine months, the service earned Kenya Railways more than $16 million, prompting the operator to double the haulage capacity using double-stack wagons to the Nairobi Inland Container Depot (ICD).
Already, the trains’ daily tonnage has increased to over 800 containers, out of the 1,700 that arrive at the port of Mombasa.
The ramping up of the operations has also seen the line ease the government’s payments of the loan to China.
“Since the start of SGR cargo freight operations in January, $16.2 million has been billed, collected and remitted to the SGR escrow account, which is under the custody of Kenya Railways,” said Kenya Ports Authority managing director Daniel Manduku.
The launch of the double-stack wagons, which Kenya Railways says will double the cargo capacity hauled to Nairobi from Mombasa, comes as the Nairobi ICD struggles with congestion. It has since acquired more land as it seeks to expand its capacity.
Read more on The East African.
