The China Road and Bridges Corporations (CRBC) and China Communications and Construction Company (CCC) will spend Sh 1billion to upgrade the 60-year-old Railway Training Institute (RTI).
The two Chinese contractors will also set up an engineering school specializing in standard gauge railway operations.
The government is reported to have committed a further Sh1 billion to up the skills of railway engineers ahead of commissioning the standard gauge railway in 2017.
“In terms of repositioning RTI as the center of excellence in railway training for the region the government on its side has committed Sh1 billion together with the support from our partners we have Sh2 billion that will make it possible for the next 24 to 36 months to have a new institute that aims to be the center for excellence for railway training in Africa,” Kenya Railways Managing Director Atanas Maina told Citizen.
Mr Maina, however said local engineers would build up their technical skills to ensure there is smooth handover of the line once the contractual period lapses.
The Mombasa-Nairobi SGR is the biggest infrastructure project in Kenya since independence.
It will shorten the passenger travel time from Mombasa to Nairobi from more than ten hours to a little more than four hours. Freight trains will complete the journey in less than eight hours.