Kenya to extend SGR to Tanzania border with US$38.5M Voi-Taveta line
The projects could help build a more integrated rail network around the region’s main ports and economic hubs.
KENYA – President William Ruto has unveiled a plan to extend Kenya’s standard gauge railway network from Voi in Taita Taveta County to the Tanzanian border, a project expected to cost approximately KSh 5 billion (US$38.5 million), according to the announcement on September 27, 2026.
The infrastructure is intended to support passenger and freight transport and foster economic development in the border region.
The announcement comes as Nairobi continues to extend its SGR network westward from Naivasha to Kisumu, then to Malaba on the border with Uganda.
Regional rail expansion
The Voi-Taveta initiative forms part of a broader trend toward cross-border transport infrastructure in East Africa. Tanzania is developing its SGR network, with planned extensions to Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The connection between the Kenyan and Tanzanian networks is central to moving goods between the ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam and inland markets of East Africa.
As a result, the projects could help build a more integrated rail network around the region’s main ports and economic hubs.
Trade growth
According to data published by the East African Community, intra-community trade rose from US$14.2 billion to US$18 billion between June 2024 and June 2025, representing a 27% increase.
The EAC is also supporting cross-border road projects, including the 193-kilometer Kenya-Uganda multinational highway linking Kisumu and Busia in Kenya with Kakira and Malaba in Uganda.
Gauge coordination challenge
The new SGR project is in an area where another railway line is already undergoing rehabilitation. In April 2026, the Kenyan government launched the reconstruction of the Voi-Mwatate-Taveta meter-gauge line, which had been out of service for nearly twenty years. A dry port is also planned for Voi.
However, the two projects are not based on the same railway standard: the rehabilitated line is meter gauge, whereas the announced new section is standard gauge.
Therefore, coordinating them is crucial to avoid parallel infrastructure in the same corridor and to optimize logistics capacity at Voi and in the border region.
Meanwhile, the main challenge for the SGR Voi-Tanzania project will be implementing it beyond the initial funding announcement.
Finally, completing the cross-border link will require close coordination with Tanzania on the route, railway standards, customs procedures, and infrastructure financing on both sides of the border, as outlined in the project plan.
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