(Posted 11th October 2026)
The Kenyan government has announced plans to invest an initial Shillings 5bn ($US 38.5m) to construct a Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) extension to Tanzania as it pursues improved cross-border transport and growth in intra-regional trade across East Africa.
The planned line will branch off the Mombasa – Nairobi SGR line at Voi, running approximately 130km west through Taita Taveta county via intermediate stations at Mwatate, Bura, and Mwakitau before reaching the border terminus at Taveta.
The new line is designed to establish a direct rail freight and passenger connection between the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa and northern Tanzanian commercial centres, including Moshi, which is 40km west of Taveta, and Arusha at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro.
The project runs in parallel with efforts to restore the legacy metre-gauge railway line along the same alignment, which has been out of service for nearly 20 years. Kenya’s president, William Ruto, also announced the development of an inland freight transshipment depot at Voi to facilitate modal transfer for regional agricultural, mineral, and container traffic.
The initiative forms part of wider efforts across the East African Community (EAC) to expand cross-border rail connectivity. Kenya Railways’ managing director, Philip Mainga, led a site inspection on the 08th of October of works along the Naivasha -Kisumu – Malaba SGR extension where construction is progressing in Narok county.
Uganda is constructing a €2.7bn, 272km electrified SGR line from Kampala to Malaba on the Kenyan border. Concurrently, Tanzania and Burundi are advancing the Central Corridor SGR link connecting the Port of Dar Es Salaam to Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia.
