The fifth anniversary of the opening of Mombasa-Nairobi Railway -- Boost connectivity and benefit local people

Source：https://news.cgtn.com/news/3d49544f3541444e/share_p.html

The Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is an important outcome of the Ten Cooperation Plans adopted at the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). Built by China Road & Bridge Corporation, SGR connects Mombasa, the largest port in East Africa, with Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. It is about 480 kilometres long built with Chinese standards, technology and equipment, and is the first railway built in Kenya since independence.

The SGR was opened to traffic on May 31, 2017. By early June 2022, SGR had transported a total of 7.785 million passengers and 1.773 million containers, boosting economic and trade exchanges between Kenya and other East African countries.

Mr Phillip Mainga, the Managing Director of Kenya Railways Corporation

There are many benefits, including but not limited to goods and services arriving at their destination, stimulating economic growth in the region, farmers getting fertilizer, now unchallenged exports of goods, and you see the trickle economy complementing industrialization and employment throughout the country.

Passenger Mr Bendit Musoka

SGR is a pleasure to ride and you can eat on it without fear of accidents as it is safer than the bus.

SGR has always adhered to the concept of green development. The railway passes through Nairobi National Park and Tsavo National Park. To reduce the railway's impact on the surrounding environment, the construction company has built viaducts and culverts, making it easy for even migrating animals to cross.

Passenger Fautia Hussain

I love the scenery along the way, on a fine day you can see all kinds of animals, zebras, gazelles, giraffes, even elephants, and on a good day you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Over the past five years, the SGR has brought tangible benefits to East African countries in personnel training and technology transfer. The operation and maintenance of the railway is a highly technical job. To improve the skills of the staff, the local railway company invited experienced Chinese staff to train the local staff.

Mr Hudson Obay, Freight Train Safety Officer

Local employees have gradually become competent in various disciplines of railway speciality, to obtain better career development opportunities. As a result of this mentor-led training, we now have Kenyans in a variety of management positions.

The railway has not only changed the lives of the Kenyan people, promoted the economic and social development of Kenya, realized the transfer of railway technology from China, but also activated the transportation and even business map of the whole East Africa.

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Translated by Zhao Shengbo