Plans to electrify the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) have been abandoned according to the Kenya Railways Managing Director Atanas Maina.
He cites the high cost of doing the upgrade and the country’s irregular electricity supply.
An estimated initial cost of Ksh 65 billion was projected to upgrade the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR line to support electric trains starting 2021. This was with an aim of boosting the speed and efficiency of train services along the line as well as bringing down the cost of running the diesel-powered locomotives.
Kenya currently has an installed electricity generating capacity of 2,300 megawatts against a peak demand of 1,700MW.
The Standard Gauge Railway is one of the major milestones Kenya celebrated since independence, costing 3.2 billion dollars, a loan from China.
Kenya is currently constructing the Nairobi-Naivasha line.
China is financing 90 percent of the 150 billion shillings on the Nairobi-Naivasha section and has been approached for an additional 370 billion shillings for the Naivasha-Kisumu line.