President William Ruto’s administration plans to spend Sh100 billion in the next three years on the Nairobi-Mombasa Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), to improve the line, build new sidings, and buy more locomotives and cargo wagons.

The National Treasury has allocated an additional Sh97.7 billion for the development of Standard Gauge Railway between July 2023 and June 2026, under the Transport Ministry.

This will raise the spending on this line to Sh780 billion by June 2026. Sh37.4 billion has been allocated from the Railway Development Levy Fund (RDLF) for the Nairobi-Mombasa SGR, with the majority earmarked for additional locomotives and freight wagons at a cost of Sh11.9 billion.

The funds will also be used to build new feeder lines and rehabilitate old metre gauge railway (MGR) lines.

No plans have been made to extend the SGR beyond Naivasha to Kisumu and Malaba in the next three years.

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However, the government intends to construct new MGR links from the Mombasa SGR Terminus to Mombasa MGR station, Naivasha Inland Container Depot to Longonot Railway Station, and Athi River Station to the East African Portland Cement, NSSF and Mavoko.

The government will also build a railway bridge across the Makupa causeway in Mombasa Island.

In addition, the funds will be used to rehabilitate the line between Longonot and the Western border town of Malaba, and to construct Malaba Cargo Handling Yard.

The plan is projected to cost Sh50.1 billion for the acquisition of locomotives and wagons in the next three years, and the allocation for the planned logistics hub will reduce to Sh375 million in the year ending June 2025.

The government's plan to extend the SGR to Uganda has been stalled as the Treasury has not received the necessary funds for the extension to Kisumu and Malaba.

However, the government intends to complete the connection of the SGR from Suswa to Kisumu via Bomet, Nyamira, parts of Kisii, and later to Malaba, and to upgrade the existing MGR via Nakuru to Kisumu and via Eldoret to Malaba.