Like the other members of the East African Community, Kenya uses the narrow gauge track gauge of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) (metre gauge).
The mainline of the KR is based on the original Uganda Railway. Its 930 km (578 mi) main track connected the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa to the port of Kisumu at Lake Victoria. Half way is the capital of Nairobi that was founded as a rail depot of the UR. The British added several branch lines as well as a link to Tanzania and a link to Uganda. The total system eventually had 2,778 km (1,726 mi) of track.
As of 2006 much of the overall railway system has been neglected or is in disrepair. Nevertheless, the mainline from Mombasa to Kisumu is operative though at reduced speed. For passengers, the "Jumbo Kenya Deluxe" connects Nairobi and Mombasa. The fourteen-hour overnight trip runs three times a week either eastbound or westbound on the single track. The "Port Florence Express" connects Nairobi with Kisumu.
KR also operates the Kenyan ferry system on Lake Victoria.
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In 2010, KRX announced plans to construct a new station on Mombasa Road in Nairobi; part of a planned commuter network which would include an airport link.
New standard gauge network
In 2012, plans were developed to expand the system with a new railway that connects to other countries, namely Uganda, Rwanda, and possibly South Sudan and Ethiopia. The new railway would be 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge. Kenya had been negotiating with China to reconstruct the Nairobi-Mombasa section first. Construction of the first phase of the planned 2 937 km $13.5bn line was inaugurated in Mombasa on 28 November 2013. Civil works on the Mombasa-Nairobi first phase were completed in November 2016, and passenger service began on 31 May 2017.
MoKaKi railway
Passenger and freight services currently operate between Mombasa and Naivasha via Nairobi. The extension from Naivasha to Kampala is planned. The finished project will connect Mombasa via Kampala to Kigali, hence MoKaKi.
First phase
The first phase between Nairobi and Mombasa, a distance of 609 km, was built by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC). The project will cost Sh327 billion, but it was later increased to Sh 420 billion to allow it source for locomotives and wagons as well. The estimated cost was $2.9m per km. The $3.8 billion deal was signed in May, 2012 in Nairobi by visiting Chinese premier Li Keqiang, along with the presidents of Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda. The Exim Bank of China provided 90% of the funds for the phase-one project, with Kenya providing the remainder. President Uhuru Kenyatta presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the standard gauge railway in November 2013. The whole project is expected to cost Ksh 1.3T (327b from Mombasa to Nairobi, a distance of 609 km). However the project had been riddled with corruption allegations, overpricing, and ignoring of procurement processes. Nandi MP Alfred Keter has been at the forefront on the corruption allegations that caused the parliamentary committee of investment and transport to investigate the project. However Keter has been accused of being hired as a mouthpiece by a prominent investor to fight the project. By May 2015, construction was underway, and Civil works on the first phase were completed in November 2016. Passenger service between Mombasa and Nairobi, called the Madaraka Express, began on 31 May 2017. By November 2018 the service had transported over 2 million passengers.
Second phase
The second phase is operating between Nairobi and Naivasha. When complete, it will extend further westwards to Malaba on the Kenya-Uganda border. There were protests that the second phase would cut through the Nairobi National Park and that the cost of the railway was excessive. In September 2016, an environmental tribunal temporarily halted the project. On 20 October 2016, President Uhuru Kenyatta inaugurated construction of Phase 2A, from Nairobi to Naivasha. Phase 2A was constructed by the China Communications Construction Company. 85% of the project cost was financed by the Export-Import Bank of China, with the balance of the funded by the Kenyan government's Railway Development Levy Fund. The Nairobi–Naivasha portion opened in October 2019.
Future phases
Once the line from Naivasha to Malaba is completed, there are plans to extend lines to Kampala, Kigali, Bujumbura and Juba.
LAPSSET
The LAPSSET railway project is a railway that is proposed to connect Kenya, Ethiopia, and South Sudan. It will be built from Lamu in Kenya to Juba and Addis Ababa.
