Kenya Railways to carve out more park land for SGR route

More park land will be carved out to create room for the construction of the second phase of the standard gauge railway (SGR) that runs from Nairobi to Naivasha.

Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) managing director Atanas Maina said six kilometres of the rail will run inside the Nairobi National Park in what looks set to trigger a standoff with conservationists.

The new Mombasa-Nairobi line will run on the edge of the park and not deeper inside, but this did not stop Friends of Nairobi National Park (Fonnap) lobby from opposing the project.

The 120km Naivasha route will cost Sh150 billion and its construction by a Chinese firm will start in September.

The KRC has submitted three options to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) for technical assessment before settling on the final route.

“Phase 2A of the SGR will cut a substantial section of the park unlike the previous phase that passed at the boarder of the animal reserve,” said Mr Maina.

“We believe through these options, there is a sustainable solution that achieves a desirable balance between infrastructure development and environmental conservation,” he added.

READ: Kenya Railways orders 56 trains for SGR line

The first option, which the corporation is rooting for, will see a rail bridge run across the park—which Mr Maina said poses minimal interruption to the wildlife’s movement.

The second option is to build a tunnel. This seems difficult because the park is low lying and the required gradient cannot be achieved, according to the KRC.

The third option is to have the track around the park to Athi River before cutting back to Naivasha. This will increase the cost of the line because of the extra 40 kilometres line.

The additional costs are estimated at Sh27.7 billion based on the Sh692 million needed to build a kilometer of the Mombasa-Nairobi line.

“The Athi River route will make the SGR more costly as it will make the line longer than is expected,” he said.

The corporation last year signed an agreement with the KWS and the National Land Commission (NLC) allowing it to realign the path of the line into the park.

This was to avoid a huge compensation bill for industries and residential estates in Mlolongo and Athi River that were in SGR’s original path.

China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), the contractor has so far constructed 80 per cent of the total distance of phase one between Nairobi and Mombasa, with the commissioning expected next year June.

The Sh327 billion railway line is designed to carry 22 million tonnes a year of cargo (approximately 40 per cent of the Mombasa Port throughput) by 2035. The freight trains will have a capacity of 216 containers ferried at an average speed of 80 km/h.