Counties which will benefit from the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) have been asked to assist with the land acquisition process to avoid development of informal settlements.
Kenya Railways (KR) and the National Lands Commission (NLC) have asked for the assistance to undertake physical planning and the construction of railway stations.
Speaking during a sensitisation forum for county heads in Nairobi, Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary Eng Michael Kamau said that the government is not constructing another railway line but converting the current metre gauge railway to a developed corridor.
He added that the SGR will deviate as appropriate to achieve the desired gradient and curvature.
“The railway line will be designed to achieve high capacity, reliability, efficiency, safety and cost effectiveness. This will help meet the transport demands in the region in the immediate and long term,” he said.
The project which was launched by retired President Mwai Kibaki in November 23, 2013 is expected to cost Sh327 billion. The first passenger train is expected to leave Mombasa to Nairobi on June 1 2017. The train will take four and half hours for the whole journey.
He said that road transport which dominates the northern corridor accounts for 94 per cent of all freight movement compared to five per cent handled by the current metre gauge railway. He added that the combined capacity of the two modes of transport is inadequate given that capacity at the port of Mombasa is expected to increase from the current 22 million tonnes to 40 million tonnes by 2030.
The development of the SGR is expected to contribute at least 1.5 per cent to the annual GDP growth during construction.