State firm signs deal to revamp railway services

By 2012, travelling between the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Nairobi’s central business district could take about 17 minutes at a frequency of every 30 minutes.

Also set to ease is travelling between Nairobi and Thika, Nakuru, Athi River and towns in between that are currently served by the railway line.

That, though, will only be possible if the Kenya Railways Corporation is able to carry out its first successful project since the railway line was constructed over 105 years ago.

And alive to its past record, the State corporation has retained the services of InfraCo - a company owned by the World Bank and six other international donor agencies - to carry out a feasibility study and implement the project over the next four years.

By then, the current contract giving Rift Valley Railways (RVR) exclusive rights to manage and operate passenger train services in Nairobi will have expired, opening it up to competition.

RVR will, however, retain exclusive rights to manage and operate cargo train services, which it was awarded for 25 years.

On Wednesday, the two - Kenya Railways and InfraCo - signed a joint development agreement to upgrade and expand the commuter rail transport services in Nairobi and its environs.

The project, estimated to cost between Sh8 billion and Sh12 billion, will see construction of a new railway line connecting JKIA and the city centre.

More suitable

It will also entail replacement of the current locomotive trains with Diesel Electric Multiple Units said to be more suitable and efficient for use as passenger carriers.

InfraCo will fund the initial cost of the project and will recoup the money by selling its interest to the private sector if the project becomes successful.

If it fails, the money used will be written off as a grant to the Kenyan Government, meaning Kenya Railways bears no risk in the implementation of project.

“InfraCo’s willingness to take such a huge risk should tell you that the project is highly viable and has a great chance of success,” said Kenya Railways managing director Nduva Muli.

The other six donor agencies that jointly own InfraCo with the World Bank are Swedish International Development Agency, United Kingdom Department for International Development, Swiss State Secretariat for Foreign Affairs, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Irish AID and Austrian Development Agency.

If successful, the project will increase the current carrying capacity of the rail from 19,000 to 100,000 passengers per day.

Together with other revenue generating avenues that the project will create, the State corporation will see its income rise to over Sh7 million per day up from the current less than Sh500,000 in the same period.