Feb 25th 2021- Movement of containers on the standard gauge railway from the Port of Mombasa, has increased by nearly half since the lowering of charges.
The lower freight charges have prompted the introduction of double stack trains, that have seen the number of containers rise from 108 to 152 on a single move on each train, reflecting a growth of 40.7 percent.
Africa Star Railway Operation Company (Afristar), which operates the SGR said it has moved 186 trains delivering 18,972 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) to the Nairobi container depot.
Kenya Railways managing director Philip Mainga said “the recently introduced two double deck trains, has continued to up the game on containerised cargo, enabling clearance on the old backlogs and maintaining desired loading of units ex hook, directly from discharging vessels”
Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) said it had deployed refurbished wagons on the SGR cargo service, which led to a substantial increase in the amount of freight hauled on the line.
Kenya Railways has reduced freight charges from $600 to $510 for a 20-foot container and from $850 to $725 for 40-foot type from Mombasa to Naivasha effective this month.