Volumes of SGR cargo jump 5pc on State directive

SGR cargo train. FILE PHOTO | NMG

What you need to know:

  • The Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) benefitted from the government policy order to ferry goods to Nairobi and other hinterland regions from Port of Mombasa via Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).
  • According to Economic Survey 2021 report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) the volume of freight transported through the SGR increased by 4.8 percent from 4.2 million tonnes in 2019 to 4.4 million tonnes in 2020.

The Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) benefitted from the government policy order to ferry goods to Nairobi and other hinterland regions from Port of Mombasa via Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).

According to Economic Survey 2021 report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) the volume of freight transported through the SGR increased by 4.8 percent from 4.2 million tonnes in 2019 to 4.4 million tonnes in 2020.

The revenue realised from SGR freight however, reduced by 19.6 percent from Sh13,013 million in 2019 to Sh10,460 million in 2020. The decline was mainly on account of discounts and promotional rates introduced following the commencement of Mombasa-Naivasha SGR cargo services.

KRC also suffered a blow as a result of Covid-19 where the number of passengers handled through the SGR declined by 49.2 percent to 812,000 in 2020. This decline was largely attributed to the suspension of SGR passenger rail services from April to May 2020 due to measures instituted by the government to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The reduction in passenger numbers resulted in a sharp decline in revenue.

The survey also showed the Mombasa port suffered minimal due to the effects of Covid-19 where total cargo throughput at the port dropped by 0.9 per cent from 34.440 million metric tonnes in 2019 to 34.116 million metric tonnes in 2020.

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