Posted on 30 August 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
According to press reports, “it is now emerging that the logistics needed for the planned East African standard gauge railway network will pose enormous challenges. These are however outweighed by the opportunities.” All five members of the East African Community have agreed in principle to build the lines in their territories. Construction of the regional [...] [...more]
Posted on 20 August 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
Kenya Railway Corporation (KRC) plans to issue bonds to fund part of a $US200 million upgrade to the rail system in the capital Nairobi, Mugo Kibati, head of the government’s long-term development plan (“Vision 2030”), told reporters on 16 August. A new 7km rail line is to link the capital’s airport to the city centre. [...] [...more]
Posted on 13 August 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) has advertised for contractors to build a new station in Nairobi. “We expect construction to start in the next 60 days,” managing director Nduva Muli told the newspaper the Nation. The facility will be “somewhere along Mombasa Road” and is to include a shopping centre, carpark and bus terminus. “We are [...] [...more]
Posted on 02 August 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
Rift Valley Railways (RVR), holders of a 25-year concession to operate some 2,200km of track linking the port of Mombasa in Kenya with the interior of both Kenya and Uganda, is to receive about $US250 million to fund its capital expenditure programme. The financing structure for the funding is still under negotiation with various institutions, [...] [...more]
Posted on 14 June 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
Kenya and Uganda plan freight trains running three times as fast as at present and carrying ten times as much – within three years. Kenya Railways managing director Nduva Muli foresees loads in excess of 30 million tons annually. He told Reuters that trains on the existing metre gauge track travel at about 40km/h using [...] [...more]
Posted on 01 June 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
The slum area around Nairobi is a huge problem to Rift Valley Railways (RVR) – and stands in the way of ambitious government plans to provide a fast, substantially upgraded commuter service. At present, trains cannot move safely at speeds greater than 20km/h. The Nation, published in the city, quotes RVR general manager for the [...] [...more]
Posted on 25 April 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
On 21 March, the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) published a notice instructing people occupying railway reserve land – roughly 33 metres on either side of the track – to demolish their structures and leave. If they did not do so within 30 days, they would be evicted. The move impacts most on residents of Kibera [...] [...more]
Posted on 13 April 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
A much improved commuter rail system is being planned for Nairobi, the Daily Nation reports, using diesel-electric multiple-unit trains (DEMU) “with two driver cabins, one at either end, meaning that the trains do not have to waste time turning around.” The project is expected to “drastically reduce traffic on city roads.” The scheme, the paper [...] [...more]
Posted on 06 April 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
According to a statement released by Rift Valley Railways (RVR) on 23 March, shareholder agreement has been reached on the way forward. The Kenya-based TransCentury together with Ambience Ventures, a subsidiary of Cairo-based Citadel Capital, will jointly invest $US250 million to revitalise the Kenya-Uganda metre-gauge rail concession. They are also to “facilitate” the development of [...] [...more]
Posted on 08 March 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
Citadel Capital, a leading private equity firm in Africa and the Middle East, with investments totalling $US8.3 billion, confirmed on 22 February that it has acquired a 49% stake in the Sheltam company, the largest single shareholder and lead investor in the Rift Valley Railways (RVR) consortium. Sheltam, a South African company, owns 35% of [...] [...more]
Posted on 12 February 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
According to Kenyan transport minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere, the planned new standard-gauge railway is “on course”, An initial stumbling block had been a stipulation in RVR’s concession document, providing that no other line could be constructed within 35km on either side of the existing railway. Agreement to waive this condition was subsequently agreed. When bidding [...] [...more]
Posted on 12 February 2010 by Railways Africa Editor
A late January joint governmental meeting convened in Kampala to decide whether to cancel RVR’s concession resolved after lengthy deliberations that it would not do so. Had it done otherwise, Jaindi Kisero pointed out in the Saturday Nation, the Transcentury group based in Kenya risked losing “an estimated $9 million it spent on acquiring its [...] [...more]
