Standard Gauge Railway [Photo/The Star]The Government of Kenya has unveiled plans to upgrade the roads leading to various intermediate stations along the standard gauge railway (SGR) line.
According to reports, the government plans to spend Sh500 million in an effort to ease access to the various terminals.
SGR currently has seven stations between Nairobi and Mombasa incuding Athi-River, Emali, Kibwezi, Mtito Andei, Voi, Maisenyi and Mariakani.
“We are in the process of awarding contracts for the construction of access roads from nearby towns such as Emali to the main terminus along the SGR line at a cost of Sh500 million. We expect construction to start in the next six months,’' said Transport and Infrastructure secretary James Macharia.
He added that the ministry is also looking at upgrading the railway to an electric line which will cost Sh65 billion within the next four years.
Macharia says the train was forced to operate on diesel fuel first due to limited power supply.
This follows an announcement by Kenya Railways to reschedule departure times for both express and inter-county train services starting December 1.