Floods cause major rail transport halt

By Onesmus Nzioka

Mtito Andei, Kenya:  Railway transport between Nairobi and Mombasa has halted after disconnection of a section of the railway near Mtito Andei by floods.

Railway OCPD Sarah Duncan said a culvert under the disconnected section was washed away by flooding water leaving the railway hanging and rendering it impassable.

The culvert was washed away on Tuesday morning following heavy downpour in the region and since then there has been no rail transport between the two cities.

She said millions of goods are stuck in the trains at Voi, Emali and the cargo terminals in Nairobi and Mombasa since the railway breakdown on Tuesday. Passengers using the railway have been forced to seek alternative means of transport.

She expressed fears that the railway breakdown was hurting the economy especially exporters and importers of bulky goods requiring railway transport.

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Dancun said engineers are on the ground trying to rectify the problem though she could not tell how long it will take to repair the destroyed section and resume transport.

“I cannot tell how long it will take to resume transport. All I can say is the section of the railway is impassable but our engineers are on the ground working round the clock to repair the destroyed section,” she told The Standard on phone.