Rift Valley Railways has launched a Sh18 billion upgrade of the Kenya-Uganda railway.
The concession holder for the line dubbed Lunatic Express hopes to attract increased cargo business from roads.
RVR chairman Brown Ondego said the new line would increase the turn-around of trains with the removal of 177 joints.
“At the moment we are losing customers because we are not able to give a consistent time of arrival of goods,” Mr Ondego said when the repairs were launched in Mombasa.
Mr Ondego said the uneven line had caused derailments.
“Trains have been running out of the tracks, causing massive delays to customers,” said Mr Ondego.
As a result, traders had shifted from using the railway system to road transport because of the inefficiency, added Mr Ondego.
He said trains would take 18 hours, instead of 27 hours now, between Nairobi and Mombasa after the repairs.
He added that the rail advancement also aims at improving the speed of transporting passengers who use the system from one destination to another.
The project has been funded by loans from international Development Fund Institutions (DFIs) and Kenya’s Equity Bank.
On Friday last week the Cabinet approved the construction of a new, modern, standard gauge railway from Mombasa to Kampala to enhance movement of passengers and goods within the region.
Railway system is the cheapest way of moving bulky consignments.
