City railway network set for overhaul

• Material for laying double track railway line between JKIA and city centre arrive in country

Construction material for double track express railway linking Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and the Nairobi Railway Station have been delivered.

The MV Feng Kang Shan docked on Thursday at the Port of Mombasa with over Sh340 million worth of materials for the construction of the 6.5km railway connecting JKIA to the main rail, bringing the dream of passengers connecting from city centre to the airport close to reality.

Transport Ministry Permanent Secretary Cyrus Njiru said the project will reduce the time taken to travel to the airport to between 15 and 30 minutes from the current two hours caused by traffic jams on Mombasa road.

He was speaking at the flagging off of the materials supplied by KEC International of India.

The PS said the programme is part of the Nairobi Commuter Rail (NCR) project — a Vision 2030 initiative under the integrated transport master plan developed by his ministry in conjunction with other government departments.

The project is being undertaken by Rift Valley Railways (RVR).

Mr Njiru received a consignment of 6,869 metric tonnes of rail bars, 10,000 sleepers and other rail accessories to be used in relaying about 70 kilometres of worn out rails between Mombasa and Nairobi, and the reconstruction of nine culverts between Tororo and Busembatia section in Uganda financed by the RVR shareholders and financial partners under a five-year turnaround programme.