Ministers from Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan, who met in Kampala to discuss implementation of projects under the Northern Corridor Integration projects initiative, considered a proposal by Kenya to electrify the new standard gauge railway.
Initially the line will run on diesel power. According to a statement by transport and infrastructure cabinet secretary James Macharia “the meeting recommended the adoption of Kenya’s proposal to convert the Mombasa – Nairobi – Malaba line to electric traction by the time all other sections in partner states commence construction.”
Kenya will move ahead with plans to provide for electric traction in the engineering and construction contracts for all sections including the Nairobi-Malaba route.
The railway is to run from Mombasa to Nairobi, eventually reaching Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. As of December 2015, construction of the Mombasa-Nairobi section was certified by Kenya Railways consultants as 63% complete. This section is expected to be finished around June 2017.
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