Kenya Railways and the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) have inked a deal that will see the agency’s managed factories transport their produce via the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line from Nairobi to the Port of Mombasa for export.
State Department for Crop Development and Agricultural Research, Principal Secretary, Hamadi Boga, noted that the move to transport tea via SGR is an innovative step that will lower tea transport costs and deliver better value to farmers.
“Plans to transport tea via Kenya Railways have been in the pipeline for a while now as we explored new technologies and infrastructure to enhance efficiencies in the tea supply chain. The new initiative will guarantee faster, safer, and more convenient transportation of tea,” Boga said.
Kenya Railways Managing Director, Phillip Mainga, the railway stands as the best choice for tea transportation. because of the benefits associated with railway transport.
“Kenya Railways guarantees large volumes of cargo transported over shortened transit times due to high haulage capacity and the high speeds of the trains.”
“Transporting tea through Kenya Railways means that the roads will be decongested because one train can transport an equivalent volume that would take many trucks to transport by road. Today we are transporting 31 containers of tea on one train. This would have taken 31 trucks if we were to do it by road. We are therefore glad to be in this partnership with KTDA because the Madaraka Express Freight Service is a faster, safer, and more efficient option,” Mainga said.
Tea from KTDA-managed factories will be transported from the tea-growing counties to the Nairobi Freight Terminal where it will be loaded onto Kenya Railways wagons and subsequently transported to the Port of Mombasa.
