On the land of East Africa, the Kenyan standard gauge railway has reached a milestone moment. After nine years of operation, this mainline railway, which was deeply operated by Chinese enterprises, has achieved its first operating profit, with a synchronous increase in freight volume. Years of continuous improvement in operational management have been realized, marking an important milestone in the development of cross-border logistics in East Africa.

Record high transportation volume

Recently, the Kenyan Business Daily revealed that the standard gauge railway achieved an operating profit of 3.2 billion Kenyan shillings in the 2025/26 fiscal year, marking the first time in nine years since the line was opened in 2017 that it has achieved operating profit. The freight volume of SGR in this fiscal year reached 8.2 million tons, setting a new historical high since its opening. Compared with the 7.04 million tons in the 2024/25 fiscal year, it increased by 1.11 million tons. The freight volume in the previous two years was 6.4 million tons and 6.3 million tons respectively, and the transportation volume steadily increased.

This fiscal year, the operating revenue of standard gauge railways was 21.8 billion Kenyan shillings, accounting for 84% of the overall operating revenue of Kenya Railways, becoming the core revenue pillar of the local railway sector. Behind the impressive business results is the continuous expansion of freight business, and the stable growth of freight flow continues to activate this East African transportation artery.

Improving operational efficiency

This business performance report comes from the continuous refinement of operations. China Road and Bridge Corporation's Africa Star Railway Operation Company, in collaboration with Kenya Railways, has optimized freight schedules. The daily average number of freight trains has increased from 7.96 pairs in the 2023/24 fiscal year to 8.27 pairs in the 2024/25 fiscal year to 9.67 pairs in the 2025/26 fiscal year. The continuous optimization of locomotive and vehicle resources has increased the utilization rate of freight cars to 70%, and the transportation capacity has been fully released. Keywords: Kenya Standard Gauge Railway, East African Logistics

The project team continuously improves the linkage between the MTR and the port, upgrades port loading and unloading equipment, optimizes transportation scheduling, compresses asset turnover time, and enhances customer service levels. A series of measures continue to enhance the freight transportation capacity and operational stability of standard gauge railways, continuously leverage the role of the East African Railway Corridor, drive regional logistics acceleration, facilitate cross-border trade, and consolidate the foundation of local economic development.Editor/Min Jing