Kenya’s SGR train cargo haulage up 40pc in Q1

Denis Young

Denis Young

Elder Lister
The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Kenya recorded a 40 percent rise in cargo hauled in the first quarter of 2025 as demand for the service grew, the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) said in a report released on Wednesday.

The SGR transported 1.82 million tonnes of cargo during the three-month period, up from 1.3 million tonnes in the same period in 2024, the KRC said in the report released in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital.

Most of the cargo was ferried in March, with the train hauling 636,724 tonnes, followed by 634,034 tonnes in January and 549,818 tonnes in February, according to the KRC.

Revenue from the passenger service rose to 3.82 billion Kenyan shillings (about 29.5 million U.S. dollars) during the quarter, up from 25 million dollars in the same period in 2024.

However, the number of passengers slightly declined, with the train ferrying 529,591 people during the quarter, down from 531,673 in the corresponding period in 2024.

Revenue from the passenger service increased to 7.24 million dollars, up from 4.39 million dollars in the same quarter of 2024

www.capitalfm.co.ke

Kenya's SGR train cargo haulage up 40pc in Q1

NAIROBI, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Kenya recorded a 40 percent rise in cargo hauled in the first quarter of 2025 as demand Kenya breaking news | Kenya news today |
www.capitalfm.co.ke www.capitalfm.co.ke

>>> With the lapset corridor growing in popularity we are likely to see continued rise in transit cargo over the next few years.

Already we can see the frequent overnight jams along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway, a key indicator of an increase in traffic.

With the Rironi - Mau Summit highway and SGR phase 2B and 2C kicking off in the first quarter of financial year 25/26 these bottlenecks will become a thing of the past.

Not forgetting Nairobi - Mombasa USAHIHI expressway before the end of 2026.
 
Denis Young said:
The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Kenya recorded a 40 percent rise in cargo hauled in the first quarter of 2025 as demand for the service grew, the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) said in a report released on Wednesday.

The SGR transported 1.82 million tonnes of cargo during the three-month period, up from 1.3 million tonnes in the same period in 2024, the KRC said in the report released in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital.

Most of the cargo was ferried in March, with the train hauling 636,724 tonnes, followed by 634,034 tonnes in January and 549,818 tonnes in February, according to the KRC.

Revenue from the passenger service rose to 3.82 billion Kenyan shillings (about 29.5 million U.S. dollars) during the quarter, up from 25 million dollars in the same period in 2024.

However, the number of passengers slightly declined, with the train ferrying 529,591 people during the quarter, down from 531,673 in the corresponding period in 2024.

Revenue from the passenger service increased to 7.24 million dollars, up from 4.39 million dollars in the same quarter of 2024

www.capitalfm.co.ke

Kenya's SGR train cargo haulage up 40pc in Q1

NAIROBI, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Kenya recorded a 40 percent rise in cargo hauled in the first quarter of 2025 as demand Kenya breaking news | Kenya news today |
www.capitalfm.co.ke www.capitalfm.co.ke

>>> With the lapset corridor growing in popularity we are likely to see continued rise in transit cargo over the next few years.

Already we can see the frequent overnight jams along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway, a key indicator of an increase in traffic.

With the Rironi - Mau Summit highway and SGR phase 2B and 2C kicking off in the first quarter of financial year 25/26 these bottlenecks will become a thing of the past.

Not forgetting Nairobi - Mombasa USAHIHI expressway before the end of 2026.
Click to expand...
Ofcors China man will say anything.

Hio ni ivestment yake hapo!

Nkt.

Wantam!
 
It's difficult to make any sense of the numbers as they are. January to February there is a collapse of 84,000 tonnes and February to March there is an uptick of 86,000 tonnes. Sounds fishy.

However since we know the economy is not in recovery, these are goods that would normally be transported by road being rerouted to rail. Why the collapse in February? You need to see historical data to make sense of these figures.

Lamu port is as dead as dead can be. The cranes that were 'borrowed' from Mombasa, for the launch, have long since been returned.

Nairobi - Mombasa USAHIHI expressway proposed toll charges of 12/13Ksh per kilometre works out to approximately 6000/- toll fee 12k for a return trip. How anyone can celebrate this madness is a marvel to behold!
 
Socialist said:
It's difficult to make any sense of the numbers as they are. January to February there is a collapse of 84,000 tonnes and February to March there is an uptick of 86,000 tonnes. Sounds fishy.

However since we know the economy is not in recovery, these are goods that would normally be transported by road being rerouted to rail. Why the collapse in February? You need to see historical data to make sense of these figures.

Lamu port is as dead as dead can be. The cranes that were 'borrowed' from Mombasa, for the launch, have long since been returned.

Nairobi - Mombasa USAHIHI expressway proposed toll charges of 12/13Ksh per kilometre works out to approximately 6000/- toll fee 12k for a return trip. How anyone can celebrate this madness is a marvel to behold!
Click to expand...

Maybe because February this year had 28 days? 👀👀 January and March have 31. Some basic math dividing 634,034/31 gives you a daily tonnage of 20452. Multiply that by 3 days you get 61,358. A shortfall of a day's worth of transported cargo.
 
Haha. One day March had the highest tonnage, the next day it's only one day worth of traffic. Maybe the cargo train doesn't run on valentines?

Without historical data, road haulage data, it's all meaningless

Denis Young said:
Interesting. From this article, the offer ended in February 2025. How would you explain the fact that March had the highest tonnage transported on SGR in the first three months of 2025?
Click to expand...
 
Denis Young said:
Interesting. From this article, the offer ended in February 2025. How would you explain the fact that March had the highest tonnage transported on SGR in the first three months of 2025?
Click to expand...
I don't have an answer to your question. But I know KPA accepts payments even when goods haven't reached Kilindini. So it's possible to pay in February but have goods on SGR in March
 
Okiya said:
I don't have an answer to your question. But I know KPA accepts payments even when goods haven't reached Kilindini. So it's possible to pay in February but have goods on SGR in March
Click to expand...
That is a bit of a stretch, don't you think? That is why this is Q1 '25 data being compared to Q1 '24 data. 40% growth is massive. That is not even inclusive of truck cargo.

We already know for a fact that mombasa container traffic has shot up as a result of improved efficiency making it the preferred port over our neighbors. The issues in the red sea because of the conflict between Palestine and Israel have made the Northern corridor more popular, which has boosted traffic.

Kenya is just exploiting the opportunity to cement its route as the most efficient and reliable one hence the investment in rail and the two expanded roads.
 
Denis Young said:
That is a bit of a stretch, don't you think? That is why this is Q1 '25 data being compared to Q1 '24 data. 40% growth is massive. That is not even inclusive of truck cargo.
Click to expand...
Comparing two quarters one year apart does not communicate much. A fuller picture would have all quarters for at least 2 years. That way you can deduce the trend. Better still, use monthly figures.
 
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