Kenya Railways Corporation Prepares a Long-term Master Plan

On 29th April 2008, Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) convened a stakeholders Forum on Railways development Master plan 2050. The Forum was attended by various stakeholders from private and public sectors.

The Forum took note of the current inefficiencies of the Kenya Railways Systems which have a negative impact on transport of goods and are also magnificent on the roads infrastructure that cannot cope with the increasing shift of traffic from rail to road.

The transport ratio is as of now less than 15% (for rail) to more than 85 %( for road). KRC presented then their vision by 2050.The master plan takes into account the growing population and economies of the region that translate into future demands.

For example it is expected that the population of the countries served by Mombasa port i.e. Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan (Southern), Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Somalia currently estimated at approximately 300 Millions will reach almost 500 Millions in 2050. This population growth together with the economies growth will inevitably increase the demand in railways transport.

The forum encouraged KRC to plan for better services in the future. One of the improvements proposed by KRC is the adoption of the standard gauge (1435mm) because it is safer, faster and more reliable.

The reasons behind this option are that there are stranded resources in the region that cannot be currently moved efficiently e.g. minerals agriculture produce, wood, etc… It is expected that with the introduction of this gauge, the costs of transport and logistics will drop to between 15% and 20% and hence will support rapid industrialization and economic growth.

The forum noted with appreciation KRC’s initiative and decided to put in place a Consultative committee to spearhead this initiative. NC TTCA is member of the committee.