The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) posted a 21.2 percent increase in revenue in the financial year to June 2023, driven by higher cargo haulage and passenger traffic.
Data from the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) shows SGR made a record Sh18.2 billion revenues during the period, marking a significant increase from Sh15.01 billion it earned in the previous year.
The revenues are expected to rise significantly going forward after passenger fares were raised by 50 percent at the start of this year.
The latest performance marks a fifth successive annual increase in SGR revenue since the train service was launched by former President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2017.
Earnings from SGR makes up 82 percent of the company’s revenue, with the increase helping push up Kenya Railway’s total revenues by 25.6 percent to Sh22.24 billion.
During the period, the company also generated Sh2.36 billion in revenue from its Meter Gauge Railway (MGR), Sh436 million from the Railway Training Institute (RTI) and Sh1.24 billion from non-rail business such as rent, museum and lease of equipment.
The number of passengers who used SGR grew to 2.52 million during the period, up from 2.35 million in the previous year and nearly double the 1.39 million that were carried during the service’s inaugural year.
Freight haulage via SGR also rose sharply to 6.29 million tonnes up from 5.66 million tonnes in the year to June 2022. Demand for cargo transportation through the line has grown rapidly, rising from 950,396 tonnes in the first year in 2017/18.
“The demand for the service grew over the period arising from its reliability, quality of service and convenience,” says the firm.
Kenya Railways this month raised fare prices on the SGR train between Nairobi and Mombasa by 50 percent in a bid to keep up with rising costs of running the train service, especially increasing fuel prices.
The price adjustments have seen passengers in first-class coaches now pay Sh4,500 from Sh3,000 last year to travel between the two cities. Those travelling in economy class coaches are paying Sh1,500 up from Sh1,000.
