Construction of road linking Mombasa to rail terminus starts June
Work progress at the Mombasa terminus Standard Gauge Railway in Miritini. The road connecting Mombasa Island to the station will begin in two months. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NMG
The road network will ease movement of people from Mombasa Island to Miritini station and vice versa.
It will be constructed in two months, after the start of SGR operations.
Miritini was picked for a terminal due to availability of land for expansion of the rail and proximity to the Port.
Construction of a commuter road network connecting Mombasa Island and the Miritini Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) station will be underway in two months.
The road, whose construction starts after SGR operations, is expected to enable people access the Miritini terminus from the coastal Island and vice versa.
“By the time we complete the railway line infrastructure which is coming in less than two months there would be the road connectivity through Magongo and Changamwe to the Island. The railway will not work in total isolation...It will work with the road network,” SGR consultant engineer James Karanja said Thursday.
Speaking in Mombasa, Mr Karanja said the road will also connect to adjacent areas while expressing optimism of expanding the network to Moi International Airport and the town centre.
“Once that is done, a desirable future option will be to have a commuter railway from Miritini station passing through the Moi International Airport and to the central business district. But for the immediate need we shall utilise both the railway and road transport to create easier mode of travel for passengers moving from upcountry to the Island and its environs and back,” he added.
Standard Gauge Railway Consultant James Karanja speaking during the Federation of Kenya Employers' AGM in Mombasa on April 20, 2017. PHOTO | WACHIRA MWANGI | NMG
The engineer said Miritini was the ideal place to build a passenger terminal due to availability of land for expansion of the rail and proximity to Mombasa Port, saying the two infrastructures were meant to co-exist to boost trade.
“We needed space without being hindered. We had a location in Changamwe, but we did not want to interfere with the flight path of planes coming to land at Moi Airport. Then it meant we had to dig down the track we found there was an existing oil pipeline...we could have compromised safety. Our objective was the port that’s why we went for Miritini,” Mr Karanja said.
