WHEN Kenya launched its new railway last year, connecting the coastal city of Mombasa to the capital, Nairobi, passenger tickets sold out. Travelling between the country’s two biggest cities overland had meant crowding into a bus for 12 hours, or riding the old British-built railway, which might have taken 24 hours. The new line, run by Chinese engineers who wander up and down the carriages, has cut the journey to between four and six hours, depending on the number of stops. The seats are comfortable and, at just 700 shillings (about $7), affordable. Lucky passengers see elephants along the way.
Shuttling passengers, however, is not what the new line was built for. When Kenya borrowed $3.2bn from China for the railway in 2014, the aim was to move freight efficiently between the capital and the port at Mombasa, 484km (301 miles) apart. Unlike the passenger service, the cargo one has been a disaster. The second train out of Mombasa arrived a day late, because it didn’t have enough goods to leave the port. Passengers may find the biggest...Continue reading
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