Kenya Railways starts SGR car freight; Mombasa casual drivers want a transition fund

Kenya Railways has launched a dedicated vehicle freight service on the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) between Mombasa and Nairobi, with onward connections to Naivasha. The Star reported the launch on 30 October, and The Standard and the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) on 31 October. Casual drivers who deliver imported cars from Mombasa say the service will cost them work.

The first consignment arrived at the Inland Container Depot in Nairobi, where Managing Director Philip Mainga announced the service. The dealer Autobarn East Africa plans to move about 700 vehicles a month from Mombasa to Nairobi. Kenya Railways has run trials since 2025. Specialised wagons carry six cars each, and the railway says the trip takes about eight hours, against more than a day by road.

The Kenyan news site Pulse Kenya reported that the inaugural train left the Port of Mombasa on 29 October with 21 vehicles on four car-carrier wagons, plus 34 flatbed wagons carrying containers, and reached Nairobi in about eight hours. No standard per-vehicle tariff or train schedule has been published, and customers should ask for a quotation covering transport, securing, insurance and customs processing. Importers, clearing agents, dealers and private motorists can enquire at [email protected]. Owners do not travel with their cars.

Mainga invited importers and clearing agents to use the service. Holidaymakers travelling between Nairobi, Naivasha and Mombasa can also ship their own cars by SGR, collect them on arrival and use the service for the return trip. Kenya Railways is also targeting markets including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, South Sudan, Burundi, Uganda and Tanzania.

The Standard reported that the Kenya Long Distance Drivers and Allied Workers Union estimates Mombasa has 3,000 to 4,500 casual vehicle drivers. They are paid per trip and no company employs them; they have no health cover and no National Social Security Fund (NSSF) contributions.

Hassan Musa, who has driven for 17 years, earned KSh 3,000 for a Toyota Fielder trip to Nairobi and KSh 8,000 for a Harrier trip to Kampala. Ali Kombo made two trips in October, against 18 in 2021. Some drivers now offer Nairobi trips for KSh 1,000, half the usual rate.

Drivers calculate that Autobarn's 700 cars a month mean 700 lost trips. Union secretary Nicholas Mbugua asked for a 50-50 split: the SGR would carry dealers' bulk shipments and casual drivers would keep cars bought by individuals and small traders. "We are not against development; we are against death by development," he said. The drivers also want the county and national governments to set up a transition fund, retrain some of them as SGR last-mile drivers or wagon mechanics, or pay compensation.

Setting out Kenya Railways' case, The Standard reported that dealers' insurance costs fall by up to 40% when cars go by rail. Mainga said the service could reduce fatigue-related road accidents by discouraging long-distance driving.

A 2019 directive required cargo importers to move goods by SGR to inland container depots in Nairobi and Naivasha; President William Ruto ordered it reversed on 13 September 2022. A 2019 study commissioned by the Mombasa county government, along with a University of Nairobi study, found Mombasa lost KSh 33.3 billion and 8,111 jobs when the SGR took over container cargo.

In a column in Business Daily on 8 November, Jack Bwana, a trade and supply chain consultant, argued that the service should be seen as an economic opportunity rather than mainly a threat to jobs. He acknowledged the concerns of Mombasa's casual drivers and proposed a structured transition involving Kenya Railways, dealers, transporters and governments, with driver registration, training and certification, and possible transitional support. Rail suits high-volume, long-distance movements, he wrote, while road remains essential for flexible and last-mile distribution.