Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), connecting the port of Mombasa to the capital Nairobi and onwards to Uganda, has achieved a milestone of 100 million passengers carried and 50 million tonnes of cargo transported since its opening, fundamentally reshaping trade and mobility across East Africa. The 740-km railway has reduced freight costs by 40% compared to road transport and cut journey times from Mombasa to Nairobi from 8 hours by bus to 4 hours 30 minutes by train.
The SGR’s success has catalyzed a broader East African railway renaissance. Tanzania has completed its own SGR to Dodoma, Rwanda is developing an extension from Uganda, and Ethiopia’s Addis AbabaโDjibouti railway is undergoing a major capacity upgrade.
The African Development Bank has announced a $15 billion African Railway Fund to accelerate continental rail connectivity, aiming to add 8,000 km of new standard gauge railway across sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.
