Naivasha SGR stretch completed

A dredger being used by the railway workers during construction of the Standard Gauge Railway [Courtesy]

The second phase of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Nairobi to Naivasha, commonly referred to as Phase 2A, is now complete.

This follows the completion of the Ngong section which had delayed for close to a year following a dispute over compensation to affected land owners.

Engineers from the contractor, China Communication Construction Company have embarked on a month-long safety testing along the 120-kilometre stretch of the new railway.

The company’s technician Fredrick Andera said the testing is aimed at checking the track, communication, signaling system while adjusting the defects ahead of commissioning.

He said the process will continue to ensure the railway’s system meets the requisite safety standards after the stalled section was completed.

"In this highly specialised system, tracks, trains, signaling and communications are integrated into a safe operating unit that feeds information about track use and activity to the Centralised Traffic Control,” said Mr Andera.

Addressing the press after visiting the Mai Mahiu station in Naivasha, the officer said the system is used by train dispatchers responsible for the overall command of the operation, thus ensuring that trains are routed safely and in a seamless sequence.

"Safety management by dispatchers is a symbolic factor that sets rail transport apart from other modes of transport,” he said.

An engineer from the company, Oscar Khagabo said priority will be given to passenger trains in keeping with international best practices.

During an April tour, a senior engineer from the company, Xue Zhiming, said they had mapped out the fault zones in the Rift Valley that lie within the SGR corridor.