March, 09, 2021 The SGR has registered an upward trend with growth on volumes coming from the Port of Mombasa compared to last year. 23,040 TEUs(Twenty-Foot equivalent Unit)–the approximate unit of measure of a container- were moved last month by the SGR freight service to both the Nairobi and Naivasha Inland Container Depots.
The cargo marked a 28.2% increase than the 17,974 registered containers, in February 2020, when covid-19 was yet to hit the economies. Kenya Railways Corporation managing director, Philip Mainga, attributed the improved performance to the newly introduced double-decker loading.
The input by Africa Star Railway Operation Company Limited (Afristar), the SGR operator, which has seen maintenance of containerized loading wagon fleets and average daily supply up to 400 wagons to the port of Mombasa, has also played a critical role in improving operations.
“KR reiterates its commitment to working closely with Kenya Ports Authority, Kenya Revenue Authority and other government agencies operating at the port to sustain ongoing efforts to reduce any delays on our clients’ cargo delivery needs,” Mainga added.
The best performance remains that of January when freight services hit a new record since operations started in January 2018. During the month, 241 trains run from Mombasa delivering 24,256 equivalent units of cargo to Nairobi and Naivasha ICDs.