A section of the Nairobi SGR terminus. [PHOTO/Tuko]There are plans by the government to electrify the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in the next four years.
The project is expected to cost the taxpayer some additional Sh65 billion.
Initially, the Ministry of Transport had put the upgrading cost for the 609km of railway track between the two cities at Sh49 billion.
This was 15 per cent of the overall cost of Sh327 billion.
When effected, the upgrade will boost the speed and efficiency of train services between the two largest cities and bring down the cost of running the diesel-powered trains as the electricity used will be generated from cheap sources of energy.
On Wednesday, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said the upgrade might run up to 20 per cent of the project's total cost.
“To convert the railway line and trains to electric will cost between 15 and 20 per cent of the project cost, which will entail putting a power line along the whole line,” he said while launching the the inter-county service train in Nairobi.