Kenya unveils $3.8 billion railway line, to cost $9 for 274 mile Nairobi-Mombasa journey (PHOTOS)

It is a new dawn for Kenyans traveling from Nairobi to Mombasa as the new Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) opens.

Kenya Railway Corporation announced on Tuesday new fares for passengers using the railway line.

For those seeking to travel in first class, they will pay sh3, 000 ($30) while those in the economy will pay sh.900 ($9).

Compared to what buses charge, railway transport seems attractive.

Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said they capped the fares after extensive research and also factored in affordability.

“We looked at the market rates and the sustainability of it. What we want is sustainability while making sure Kenyans enjoy the comfort at affordable rates,” he said.

He noted the train’s sh900 for the economy class is half of what is charged by bus companies.

“The economy class is estimated at half the price of the bus fare.”

The ride under “Madaraka Express” is expected to begin in June and will ply Nairobi-Mombasa route.

The passenger train will be operating under intercity and county trains options.

Intercity trains which have a capacity of 1, 200 passengers will be operating between cities and could take between four to four-and-a-half hours to get to either Mombasa of Nairobi.

County passenger trains will take longer up to five-and-a-half hours as they will be making stopovers at Mariakani, Maisenyi, Voi, Mtito Andei, Kibwezi, Emali and Athi River.

Transportation of containerized cargo has also received a major boost with the opening of the railway line.

It will cost sh51, 675 to transport a container from the Port of Mombasa to Nairobi’s Inland Container Depot.

This is cheaper compared to road transport which cost between sh80, 000 and 90, 000 to transport containerized cargo between Mombasa and Nairobi.

The trains will take about eight hours, unlike trucks which take between 16 to 24 hours.

President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to launch the railway line’s operations on Wednesday.

More than a century after a colonial railway gave birth to modern Kenya, the country is betting on a new Chinese-built route to cement its position as the gateway to East Africa.

The $3.2 billion (2.8 billion euro) railway linking Nairobi with the port city of Mombasa will Wednesday take its first passengers on the 472 kilometre (293 mile) journey, allowing them to skip a hair-raising drive on one of Kenya’s most dangerous highways.

The railway is the country’s biggest infrastructure project since independence, and while it has courted controversy, it is a key selling point for the ruling Jubilee party ahead of August elections.

It is also part of a “master plan” by east African leaders to connect their nations by rail, with the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) planned to eventually link Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, Burundi and Ethiopia.

“There is no country which has ever developed without having a very robust railway system. It was long overdue,” Kenya’s Transport Minister James Macharia told AFP.