President Uhuru Kenyatta is Tuesday expected to flag off a cargo train from Mombasa port.
President Uhuru Kenyatta is Tuesday expected to flag off a cargo train from Mombasa port, which will pull 50 wagons laden with containers bound for the Embakasi inland container depot.
Kenya Railways managing director Atanas Maina on Monday said the train will be for trial purposes, with the service expected to be launched in January next year.
On Wednesday, the President is expected to launch the passenger train service between Mombasa and Nairobi, which will ferry 1,200 passengers daily both ways.
The cargo train, according to Kenya Railways, will transport goods destined to Nairobi and its environs.
“To start with, the cargo ferried by the trains will only be that destined for Nairobi only and not transit,” Mr Maina said. The Embakasi ICD occupies 29 hectares and has a stacking yard with an annual capacity of more than 180,000 teus.
The Ksh22 billion ($220 million) facility is expected to play a crucial role in the efficiency of the SGR.