'To get rich, build roads first.' Or, in this case, a railroad that has become a lifeline in Kenya
A railway line through the vast savanna of southeastern Kenya is a source of pride for the Chinese who built it and the locals who use it.
The Nairobi-Mombasa Standard Gauge Railway, which connects the nation's capital with the nation's biggest seaport, celebrates its sixth anniversary this year as China and Kenya mark 60 years of diplomatic relations.
Then Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta flags off a cargo train, as it leaves the container terminal at the port of the coastal town of Mombasa for its inaugural journey to Nairobi on May 30, 2017.
Lemme Deche is corporate communications officer for the Africa Star Railway Operation Co. He has ridden on the railway, known locally as RSG, eight times as a passenger and once as corporation communications officer for the company.
Indeed, the construction of the railway led to his employment after eight years jobless.
"Before the railway came into operation in 2017, there was almost zero traffic on the current route, apart from buses," he told Shanghai Daily. "I was jobless with zero income, and I never imagined that I would be working for the railway one day."
The Chinese have a saying: "To get rich, build roads first."
The Kenya railroad is the largest infrastructure program in Kenya since its independence in 1963 and is considered a success story in China's ambitious "Belt and Road" program – an initiative to forge closer economic and cultural ties with Central Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
The railway is the largest infrastructure project in Kenya since the country gained independence in 1963.
The railroad was built by China Road & Construction Corp and is financed by low-cost loans from the Exim Bank of China. State-owned Kenya Railways Corp., which owns the railway, contracts its operations and maintenance to Africa Star, a subsidiary of the Chinese construction company.
The US$3.8 billion first phase from Mombasa to Nairobi was completed in 2017. Two years later, a second phase from Nairobi to Naivasha opened.
The entire railroad stretches for 600 kilometers and handles an average 10 passenger trains and about 17 freight trains a day, with design speeds ranging from 80 to 120 kilometers an hour.
Up to the end of November, the railway had transported more than 11.6 million passengers and nearly 30 million tons of cargo, without any accidents.
Uhuru Kenyatta made a speech in the train coach on the day when the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway was put into operation in 2017.
"The railway is very popular in Kenya because it's convenient and economical," said Chen Tianpeng, deputy general manager of Africa Star. "It provides ideal transport for people who want to spend holidays in coastal areas of the country. Air travel is expensive, and long-distance buses are slow. The rail line is so popular that passengers usually need to reserve tickets at least a week in advance. Tickets for the holiday season around Christmas have already been booked out."
Apart from tourism, the railway has become an economic lifeline in Kenya. It allows local companies to transport their products to and from connecting seaports and manufacturing hubs cheaply.
"And in times of crisis, the railway is used to transport emergency supplies," Chen said. "A good example of that was during the COVID pandemic, when the railway carried medical supplies in Kenya and to inland countries of eastern Africa."
Chen Tianpeng (left) helps train a Kenyan engineer.
To Deche, the best part of the train trip is the stunning natural scenery along the route.
"The train passes through national parks, affording views of forests, wild animals, mountains and rivers – natural habitat that the construction plan had vowed to conserve," he said.
The pledge to preserve native wildlife habitat was one of the biggest challenges faced by construction teams.
Wen Xinlan at a construction site on the Standard Gauge Railway.
Wen Xinlan, project manager of Head Office of the Standard Gauge Railway Project, who oversaw construction, told Shanghai Daily that a wildlife conservation team was created to study the animals and plot their migratory pathways on the savanna.
"The team, including three Chinese experts and a local guide, walked around the Tsavo National Park for half a year," Wen said. "They studied different animal species and the landscapes that sustain them on their migratory paths to determine how the rail line should be designed and routed."
The Tsavo National Park is the largest wild elephant habitat in the world. The railway designed special passageways for animals to migrate without crossing the tracks.
The largest wildlife park in Kenya, Tsavo National Park covers more than 20,000 square kilometers – 17 times the area of New York City. The park is home to the world's largest wild elephant herds, numbering more than 20,000 elephants, as well as other animals such as giraffes, zebras, lions and antelopes.
The experts chose giraffes as a standard because of the animal's height to design "underpasses" for the animals to use on migration. The height of bridges was raised and watering holes were installed for the animals. Fences on both sides of the railways minimized the risk of animals wandering onto the tracks.
A screenshot of a Xinhua video shows a water culvert for the benefit of wild animals.
After the railway was put into service, Chinese engineers stayed on to manage operations and maintenance. They trained Kenyan employees, who now number nearly 3,000.
Xu Zhengang, manager of Locomotive and Rolling Stock Department of Africa Star, told Shanghai Daily that the training was first implemented in an apprentice style to teach theoretical and practical knowledge on maintenance and management. Once Kenyan engineers were fully trained, their Chinese counterparts remained for technical support.
"There are some unexpected conditions on the track," Xu said. "Sometimes, animals wandered onto the tracks through damaged fences, and the long rainy season also heightened the threat of floods. We worked with local police and flood control authorities to try to stave off accidents."
The cooperation between Chinese and Kenyan engineers has nurtured some deep friendships.
Passenger train attendant Alex Mungai Ndung'u, who has been working on the railway since it started operation, said he always misses Chinese colleagues who have returned to China.
"My main duty is to inspect, monitor and help control passenger trains with locomotive drivers," he said. "This has helped me hone not only my engineering skills, but also interpersonal and communication skills. Being part of this close-knit family has created a sense of belonging in me and developed an interest in Chinese culture."
The Nairobi terminal of the railway
In the future, the railway is expected to extend to Malaba, on Kenya's western border with Uganda, and probably further connect more with railway networks in eastern Africa to benefit more inland countries.
Earlier, Kenya's President William Ruto said the railway has sparked discussions among neighboring countries about ways of expanding East-West ties.
"It's no longer just Mombasa to Nairobi; we now have it all the way to Naivasha," Ruto said. "And among the conversations we will be having with other countries is how nations beyond Kenya, like Uganda and DRC Congo, can be part of this great success story."
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