For those who were worried when their vehicles get transported by road, they can now have a sigh of relief. Kenya Railways has introduced a vehicle transportation service on the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), which will offer motorists, car importers, and vehicle dealers a safer, faster, and more efficient way to transport their vehicles from Mombasa to Nairobi.
This is the first vehicle-hauling service that Kenya Railways is offering, and according to the company, the first train carrying over 21 vehicles departed the Port of Mombasa on October 29, 2026, and arrived at the Inland Container Depot (ICD) with the journey only taking 8 hours.
The train has a specially fabricated vehicle carrier alongside approximately 34 flatbed wagons used for transporting shipping containers. Different vehicle brands can be accommodated by the car carrier, including Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Suzuki, Volkswagen, Mazda, and Daihatsu, among others.
Kenya Railways hasn’t specified the maximum limitations of vehicle to be transported by the freight train. In addition to transporting the vehicles, the company will offer services such as insurance, vehicle lashing and securing, and customs processing.
In his statement, Kenya Railways Managing Director, Philip Mainga, highlighted the car carrier service as a significant milestone in the company’s efforts to diversify and strengthen railway freight services. He also added that they will be targeting to transport more than 700 vehicles per month.
Mainga cited the service as a safe, reliable, and efficient way of transporting vehicles and highlighted key advantages of the service, including contributing to decongestion on Kenyan roads by reducing the number of vehicles transported along the Nairobi-Mombasa road, reducing wear and tear, preventing missing vehicle mileage, and protecting vehicles from exposure to road dust and damage.
The inaugural consignment transported was being delivered to Autobarn East Africa and they plan to move about 700 vehicles monthly from Mombasa to Nairobi using the launched Kenya Railways SGR’s services. The new service follows after transportation trials that were conducted since last year and is aimed at providing a safer, faster and more cost effective options for those looking to move large numbers of vehicles from the coastal port to Nairobi.
