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Kenya Railways Hosts Regional Ministers as East Africa Rail Corridor Gets Nine-Week Fast-Track Timeline
Gerald Kombo
November 07, 2025
Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir announces immediate groundbreaking timeline as Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan finalize cargo data, financing structure and policy framework to unlock continental railway spine
Kenya hosted Transport Ministers from Uganda and South Sudan today at the JW Marriott Hotel for a ministerial kick-off meeting on the East Africa Rail Corridor, announcing a nine-week technical validation process designed to accelerate construction of the standard gauge railway linking Mombasa to Juba and beyond to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport Hon. Davis Chirchir confirmed the government's commitment to break ground "in the shortest possible time" once lenders and technical teams align on bankability metrics.
Record cargo volumes drive urgency
Chirchir disclosed that Kenya moved 640 million metric tons of cargo by rail last month, the highest volume on record, compared to a monthly average of approximately 500 million metric tons.
"We need to quickly ensure that cargo destined for Uganda, South Sudan and other regions all the way to DRC is facilitated. We need to reduce pressure on our roads, reduce road accidents, but more importantly, the railway has a better carbon footprint because we can haul so much more on rail than on roads," Chirchir stated.
Despite the record performance, rail currently carries only 20 percent of cargo landed at the Port of Mombasa, leaving significant room to shift freight from roads to rail through policy interventions now under consideration.
Nine-week validation to confirm bankability
The three countries have tasked joint technical teams with a nine-week study to validate:
Historical and projected cargo volumes moving along the Northern Corridor
Policy shifts required to increase rail's modal share from 20 percent to 40 percent or higher
Financing covenants acceptable to development partners and commercial lenders
Synchronized construction timelines ensuring Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan complete adjacent sections simultaneously to avoid stranded assets
"We're spending time to understand the data. The data that has moved historically, that is moving today, and that is likely to move in the future, contextualizing policy changes that may move more cargo to rail. We are working as a team to make what would otherwise be a social investment more commercial and therefore more bankable," Chirchir explained.
Financing anchored on Railway Development Levy
Kenya plans to leverage its 2 percent Railway Development Levy, which generates approximately KES 40 billion annually, as the foundation for long-tenor borrowing that compresses construction to two to three years rather than an extended timeline.
"We've done financial modeling and for now we are good with the 2 percent from the Kenyan perspective in terms of going to market. We are looking at 15-year facilities. Railways depreciate over a long period. Even if financial return on investment is 2 percent, the economic return from opening markets justifies the investment," Chirchir said.
The Cabinet Secretary emphasized that infrastructure investments deliver economic returns broader than pure profitability, opening markets and reducing logistics costs that accelerate growth across multiple sectors.
Kenya Railways Bill to unbundle infrastructure from freight
A draft Kenya Railways Bill currently in public participation will unbundle infrastructure ownership from freight operations, enabling freight concessioning where private operators run locomotives on public tracks and pay regulated access tolls.
"Like on roads today, we build roads and anybody can put a car on the road and pay a toll. Railway can own the infrastructure and companies can run their locomotives on the railway and pay a toll for infrastructure development and maintenance," Chirchir explained.
The model is expected to increase freight revenues while optimizing network utilization through centralized signaling that manages multiple operators.
Uganda confirms progress on Kampala-Malaba section
Uganda's Transport Minister confirmed construction progress from Kampala toward Malaba and outlined the economic rationale for regional coordination.
"Rail transport can carry a lot of cargo. When you carry a lot of cargo, transport cost reduces. We know it is there, but we have given ourselves nine weeks for our people to confirm the business. Once it comes true, the economic status of these three countries will not remain the same," the minister stated.
He emphasized that synchronized delivery prevents scenarios where one country completes its section while neighbors lag, leaving completed infrastructure underutilized until cross-border connectivity is established.
The Ugandan section will extend 170 kilometers from Kampala to Malaba on the Kenya border, then northward through Gulu and Nimule to Juba in South Sudan, creating a continuous spine that unlocks access to DRC markets where significant trade flows currently move by road at higher cost.
Kenya sections: Naivasha to Kisumu, Kisumu to Malaba
Kenya's immediate priority is completing:
Phase 2B: Naivasha to Kisumu (262 kilometers)
Phase 2C: Kisumu to Malaba (approximately 107 kilometers)
Chirchir confirmed that compensation for affected communities along the corridor through Narok, Bomet, Nyamira, Kisumu and Busia counties is underway, with feasibility and Environmental and Social Impact Assessment studies already completed.
The 262-kilometer Naivasha-Kisumu section is estimated at approximately USD 3 billion, translating to roughly USD 11.5 million per kilometer, providing a baseline for cost modeling across the regional network.
E-mobility integration and energy transition
Chirchir linked the rail expansion to Kenya's broader e-mobility and clean energy agenda, emphasizing the role of renewable power in reducing operational costs.
"The cost of energy in Kenya is what it is because of generation using diesel, which is three or four times as expensive as wind, solar and geothermal generating at less than 10 US cents. If we run our economy using wind, solar and geothermal in vehicles, in trains, we reduce the cost of doing business by bringing the cost of energy down," he stated.
Kenya currently spends USD 500 million annually on petroleum imports, funds that could be redirected toward domestic renewable energy deployment while improving the carbon footprint of transport infrastructure.
Passenger services and multi-operator model
Once operational, the corridor will support both freight and passenger services, with private operators concessioned to run services under a regulated access framework.
The Kenya Railways Bill establishes the legal structure for this model, creating revenue streams from access charges that support ongoing infrastructure maintenance and expansion.
Immediate next steps
Following the nine-week validation period, ministers expect to:
Finalize lender agreements based on confirmed cargo projections and revenue models
Announce groundbreaking dates for Kenya's Phase 2B and 2C sections
Coordinate construction schedules with Uganda and South Sudan to ensure simultaneous border hand-offs
Implement policy shifts that move freight from road to rail, increasing the corridor's commercial viability
"We want to break ground almost immediately. The sooner we agree with lenders, we should be able to start construction," Chirchir concluded.
The Northern Corridor railway represents East Africa's most significant infrastructure integration project, designed to reduce logistics costs, improve trade competitiveness and position the region as a cost-effective hub in the global economy.
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