Pwani Express Coastal Rail
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| Pwani Express Coastal Rail (Diani to Lamu high-speed railway) | |
|---|---|
| Project | |
| Status | proposed |
| Theme | Transportation |
| Pillar | Infrastructure |
| Counties | Kwale, Mombasa, Kilifi, Lamu |
| Lead organisation | Pwani 2050 |
| Partners | Would involve: Kenya Railways Corporation, State Department for Transport |
| Funding source | Not yet identified |
The Pwani Express Coastal Rail is a project within the Transportation theme. It is a proposal from the Pwani 2050 plan for a high-speed railway along the inland side of the coastal highway from Diani in the south to Lamu in the north, with stops at Diani, Mombasa Airport and the standard gauge railway terminus, Mtwapa, Vipingo, Kilifi, Watamu, Malindi and Lamu, linking the proposed "Space Gold Coast" around the Lamu spaceport with Mombasa in "336 km in 90 minutes" by express. No official plan includes a coastal railway; the only rail plan for Lamu is an inland freight line to Mariakani. A 2011 Kenya Railways study looked at commuter lines from Mombasa to Malindi and from Malindi to Lamu and judged them suitable only for infrequent intercity trains. The 90-minute target implies an average speed of 224 km/h, faster than Africa's only high-speed line.
What it is
The plan describes a high-speed line of about 336 km, which matches the road distance from Mombasa to the Lamu mainland at Mokowe (about 341 km); from Diani the distance would be some 30 km longer.[1] Lamu town itself is on an island without a bridge, so the northern terminal would be at Mokowe or near the new Lamu port. Diani lies south of the Likoni channel, which no railway crosses: the planned Mombasa Gate Bridge is a four-lane road bridge,[2] and the Dongo Kundu bypass, completed in 2024, is a road.[3]
The speed target
A journey of 336 km in 90 minutes means an average of 224 km/h from end to end (calculated on this page). Morocco's Al Boraq, Africa's only true high-speed line, runs at up to 320 km/h on its new section and covers Tangier to Casablanca, 323 km, in 2 hours 10 minutes, an average of about 149 km/h (calculated on this page).[4][5] Kenya's own Mombasa to Nairobi standard gauge railway was designed for 120 km/h passenger running.[6] The target is achievable only on a dedicated line built for 300 km/h or more, with an express service that skips most of the nine proposed stops.
Earlier studies
In 2011 Kenya Railways commissioned the Swiss firm Pöyry to study commuter rail for Mombasa. It proposed six corridors, including Mombasa to Mtwapa, Kilifi and Malindi (17 stations, 113.7 km) and, for a later phase, Malindi to Lamu (6 stations, 204.9 km). Reviewing it in 2018, JICA's Mombasa master plan team concluded that because most of each corridor lay far beyond the city, "train departures will be infrequent", making them suitable for intercity rather than commuter trips.[7]
Rationale
The plan's case is that a fast railway would tie the coast's towns and resorts into one economic corridor, connect them to Mombasa's airport and the railway to Nairobi, take traffic off the single-carriageway coastal road and open the north coast around Malindi and Lamu to investment. The towns along the route are growing: in 2019 Malindi had 119,859 people, Mtwapa 90,677, Kilifi 74,270 and Watamu 27,857.[8] The national transport policy lists the road corridor from Lunga Lunga through Mombasa, Malindi and Lamu among Kenya's main regional routes, and calls for a "rail connection to Lamu".[9]
Status and timeline
The railway exists only as a proposal in the Pwani 2050 plan. The government's rail plans for the coast are different. Its standard gauge railway expansion plan includes a Mariakani to Lamu segment of 325.3 km, inland, at KSh 257.3 billion, within a KSh 2.1 trillion programme for which no budget had been allocated.[10] The railway extension actually being built goes west, from Naivasha to Kisumu and Malaba.[11] On the coast itself, a metre-gauge commuter service between the standard gauge terminus and Mombasa city centre opened in September 2025,[12] and the coastal road north of Mombasa is being widened to a dual carriageway in stages, starting with the Nyali to Mtwapa section.[13]
How the project would be procured
There is no Terms of Reference, feasibility study or budget. A railway of this kind would be a national project led by Kenya Railways and the State Department for Transport, financed by loans or a public private partnership.
Who is involved
The proposal comes from the Pwani 2050 plan. Kenya Railways Corporation owns and runs Kenya's railways, and the State Department for Transport sets transport policy.[9] The county governments of Kwale, Mombasa, Kilifi and Lamu would be affected along the route.
Concerns and counterpoints
No one has commented in public on this proposal. The points below come from the record of Kenya's standard gauge railway and from the environment of the route.
Cost and debt
At the cost per kilometre of Kenya's Mombasa to Nairobi railway, about US$7.6 million for a 120 km/h line, some 340 to 370 km of conventional railway would cost roughly US$2.6 to 3 billion (calculated on this page), and a true high-speed line more.[6] Kenya Railways is already struggling with its existing debt: the Auditor-General issued an adverse opinion on its 2023/24 accounts after it made no repayments on the China Exim Bank loan for the standard gauge railway, incurring KSh 3.5 billion in penalties, and management said cash from operations was insufficient to meet the loan.[14] In 2020 the Court of Appeal found that the procurement of the standard gauge railway contract, without an open tender, broke the Constitution and procurement law, in a case brought by Okiya Omtatah and the Law Society of Kenya.[15]
Demand
The busiest intercity railway in Kenya, the Mombasa to Nairobi Madaraka Express, carried about 2.7 million passengers in 2025, about 7,400 a day.[16] On the 2019 census figures above, the towns between Mtwapa and Malindi have about 325,000 people. JICA's review found that even conventional coastal rail would serve only infrequent intercity trips.[7] Upgrading the coastal road and building the Mombasa northern bypass may deliver much of the benefit at lower cost.
Environment
The northern half of the route passes through some of Kenya's most important coastal habitat. Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, between Kilifi and Malindi, is an Alliance for Zero Extinction site, home to the Sokoke scops owl, Clarke's weaver, the golden-rumped sengi and elephants, and roads are already listed as a threat.[17] Dakatcha Woodland, inland of Malindi, has no formal protection.[18] At the Lamu end, the Boni-Dodori forests already list the LAPSSET corridor, road development and insecurity among their threats.[19] A railway would also cross the creeks at Mtwapa, Kilifi and Mida and the Tana delta.
Security
Lamu County has a continuing al-Shabaab insurgency, and attacks on road crews have repeatedly delayed LAPSSET roads in the area.[20]
Sources
- Updated Integrated National Transport Policy, Ministry of Roads and Transport, March 2024.
- Mombasa Gate City Master Plan, Final Report Part I, JICA, 2018 (8 MB, linked rather than uploaded).
- Arabuko-Sokoke Forest factsheet, Key Biodiversity Areas Partnership.
References
- ↑ Lamu, Wikipedia, read 15 October 2026.
- ↑ Mombasa Gate Bridge, Ministry of Roads and Transport, 15 January 2024.
- ↑ Diani Beach, Wikipedia, read 15 October 2026.
- ↑ Al Boraq, Wikipedia, read 15 October 2026.
- ↑ Kenitra–Tangier high-speed rail line, Wikipedia, read 15 October 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Mombasa–Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway, Wikipedia, read 15 October 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Comprehensive Development Master Plan in the Mombasa Gate City, Final Report Part I, JICA, March 2018, PDF page 109 (printed page 4-3).
- ↑ Kilifi (County, Kenya), City Population, citing the 2019 Kenya census, read 15 October 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Updated Integrated National Transport Policy, Ministry of Roads and Transport, March 2024, PDF pages 21 and 37.
- ↑ Grand Sh2.1trn plan to expand SGR to Kisumu, Malaba, Isiolo, Dominic Omondi, Business Daily, 15 May 2023.
- ↑ Kenya Standard Gauge Railway, Wikipedia, read 15 October 2026.
- ↑ Kenya Railways releases schedule for newly launched Mombasa Commuter train, Perpetua Etyang, The Star, 18 September 2025.
- ↑ Dualling of Nyali-Mtwapa Bridge road on course, Sadik Hassan, Kenya News Agency, 24 September 2023.
- ↑ SGR loan default puts Kenya Railways on spot, Moses Ogada, The Star, 5 December 2024.
- ↑ Kenya's Court of Appeals finds SGR contract with China Road and Bridge Corporation was illegal, Global Construction Review, 29 June 2020.
- ↑ Cargo, passenger surge lifts SGR revenue to Sh21bn in 2025, Kabui Mwangi, Business Daily, 11 February 2026.
- ↑ Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, Key Biodiversity Areas Partnership, factsheet 6397.
- ↑ Dakatcha Woodland, Key Biodiversity Areas Partnership, factsheet 6398.
- ↑ Boni-Dodori, Key Biodiversity Areas Partnership, factsheet 20921.
- ↑ LAPSSET gamechanger project a pipedream as key projects stall, Eliud Kibii, The Star, 27 July 2025.