SGR revenue hits record Sh18bn

The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) posted a 21.2 percent increase in revenue in the financial year to June 2023.

The SGR according to the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) made a record Sh18.2 billion in revenues during the period, marking a significant increase from the Sh15.01 billion it earned in the previous year.

The growth is driven by higher cargo haulage and passenger traffic. The number of passengers who used SGR grew to 2.52 million during the period, up from 2.35 million in the previous year and nearly double the 1.39 million that were carried during the service’s inaugural year.

Freight haulage via SGR also rose sharply to 6.29 million tonnes up from 5.66 million tonnes in the year to June 2022. Demand for cargo transportation through the line has grown rapidly, rising from 950,396 tonnes in the first year in 2017/18.

The latest performance marks a fifth successive annual increase in SGR revenue since the train service was launched by former President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2017.

Earnings from SGR make up 82 percent of the company’s revenue, with the increase helping push up Kenya Railway’s total revenues by 25.6 percent to Sh22.24 billion.

Kenya Railways in January increased SGR ticket prices by 50 percent in a bid to keep up with the rising costs of running the train service, especially increasing fuel prices.

Passengers in first-class coaches will now be paying Sh4,500 up from Sh3,000 for a one-way ticket between Nairobi and Mombasa while those travelling in economy class coaches will pay Sh1,500 up from Sh1,000.