Kenya Railways has launched a dedicated block train service for French shipping giant CMA CGM, moving the line's containers directly from the Port of Mombasa to the Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Embakasi, Nairobi.

The inaugural train left the coast on Wednesday, October 28, carrying 108 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in a single trip. Transport Principal Secretary Mohamed Daghar and France's Ambassador to Kenya, Wadid Benaabou, presided over the launch.

How the service works

A block train carries cargo for a single destination without splitting or shunting wagons along the way. Under the new arrangement, the train carries only CMA CGM containers, with a pre-allocated block that typically ranges from 50 to more than 100 TEUs per journey. Reports from the launch indicate the service will initially run once a week.

Kenya Railways, the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and CMA CGM will jointly coordinate the chain, including:

  • Discharge of containers from vessels at Mombasa
  • Segregation of the line's boxes at the port
  • Transfer onto rail and train scheduling
  • Final offloading at the Embakasi ICD

Kenya Railways said the point-to-point model cuts the time containers spend at the port and reduces handling at intermediate points.

Boost for SGR freight

The new service will run alongside the existing Madaraka Freight operations on the Standard Gauge Railway and the metre gauge railway, which already handle between nine and ten block trains a day.

Kenya Railways said moving freight from highways to rail can cut greenhouse gas emissions by between 50 and 67 per cent compared to long-distance trucking, while also easing pressure on the busy Mombasa-Nairobi highway.

The corporation invited importers, exporters, shipping lines and cargo owners to explore dedicated rail freight options, saying the partnership is expected to strengthen logistics links to Uganda, South Sudan, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A global model

CMA CGM runs similar block train services in markets including Mexico, India, Thailand, China and Brazil, as well as in Southern Africa, where it operates a Beira-Harare route linking Mozambique's port to Zimbabwe.

The launch comes as the government continues to push shippers to use the SGR for cargo heading inland, in a bid to improve the railway's earnings and lower the cost of moving goods into the hinterland.

Photos: Kenya Railways via Food Business MEA (launch); Kenyans.co.ke (SGR train). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.