Kenya Chooses Southern Route for SGR Extension to Kisumu in $772 Million Cost-Saving Move
The Kenyan government has finalized plans to extend the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to Kisumu along a southern corridor, setting aside previous proposals that would have passed through the major towns of Nakuru and Eldoret.
The decision follows a detailed technical assessment which concluded the southern route is shorter, cheaper to build, and presents fewer geological risks.
The selected route will stretch approximately 489.57 kilometres from Nairobi through Ngong, Kiambu, Mai Mahiu, Suswa, Narok, Bomet, Sondu, and Ahero before reaching Kisumu, with a branch continuing to Malaba on the Ugandan border.
According to the government’s blueprint, this pathway offers a significant advantage: it requires $772.7 million (about Sh99.68 billion) less in initial investment compared to the northern corridor option.
Planners highlighted several key benefits. The southern alignment is 31 kilometres shorter than the central route and a substantial 148.6 kilometres shorter than the northern alternative.
It also minimizes exposure to seismic hazards, crossing only 133 kilometres of high-intensity seismic zones 80 kilometres less than the middle corridor and avoids some of the most difficult fault-affected areas within the Rift Valley.
“The route has several advantages: it crosses only 133 kilometres of high seismic intensity zones, being 80 kilometres less than the middle route, encounters fewer fault-affected areas in the Rift Valley, is 31 kilometres shorter, and requires approximately $772.7 million less investment,” the assessment stated.
This decision did involve a trade-off. Officials acknowledged that the towns along the chosen southern corridor are generally smaller in scale than the established urban centres like Nakuru and Eldoret on the previously considered central and northern routes.
The rejected central corridor via Nairobi-Nakuru-Kisumu would have been 525.2 kilometres long, while the northern route through Eldoret would have stretched 638.2 kilometres.
The southern alignment now defines Phase 2B of the SGR project, which will extend the line from its current endpoint at Naivasha. The new segment is designed to handle both freight and passenger trains, targeting speeds of up to 80 km/h for freight and 120 km/h for passenger services, aiming to drastically reduce travel time and boost connectivity to western Kenya and the Lake Victoria region.
This route announcement comes as Kenya manages the financial dimensions of the massive infrastructure project. The government recently negotiated an extension for its SGR loan repayment to China until 2040 and is seeking alternative funding models to complete the crucial Naivasha-Kisumu section.
With the path forward now clearly mapped, the focus turns to mobilizing resources and beginning construction on the next chapter of the national railway network.
