Repeat presidential election could delay SGR cargo train plan

President Uhuru Kenyatta flags off a cargo train at the Mombasa Port’s second container terminal in May 2017. Freight train operations are set to officially start in January 2018 after next month's trial runs. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

Trial runs for the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) freight train that were scheduled to start next month could be delayed by the uncertainties posed by the looming repeat presidential election.

Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said in an interview that although the Chinese contractor was committed to adhering to the project’s timelines, they had expressed reservations about the volatile political environment in the country in the run up to the October 17 polls.