The first diesel locomotives built by CRRC Qishuyan Corporation for Kenyan cargo trains were unloaded at the port of Mombasa this month, and will soon be in service on the Nairobi to Mombasa line.

Kenya will start high speed passenger and freight train services in June. 56 diesel power locomotives have been ordered from CRRC Qishuyan Corporation. The Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya has been supported by China Eximbank, backing construction companies such as China Road and Bridge Construction Company.

China Eximbank is also likely to come in as one of the main lenders on the Uganda to Kenya rail link. The main contractor on the new 273 kilometre line is China Harbour Engineering Co. Total project cost is estimated at $2.3 billion. The line will run from Ugandan capital Kampala and the Kenyan border town of Mabala, thus linking land-locked Uganda with the Kenyan rail network and access to the East Coast of Africa.