1. 1. The
$3.8 billion, 298-mile stretch of railway is the work of the China Road and
Bridge Corporation, a state-owned enterprise that build on Beijing’s behalf in
Africa. The Chinese began building the line in December 2014 and completed the
first section, the Nairobi-Mombasa line, 18 months early.
2. 2. The
Nairobi-Mombasa line is just the first instalment in the Chinese-funded project
to improve rail links in East Africa. The line is planned to extend westward
from Kenya and into Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi,
and northward into South Sudan and Ethiopia.
3. 3. Before
the new railway opened, the quickest way to get from Mombasa to Nairobi without
the expense of flying was a grueling nine-hour bus journey; the old railway
takes 12 hours to complete the journey. The new standard-gauge railway is
predicted to cut that journey time down to four-and-a-half hours. President
Kenyatta also ordered the state-owned railway company to charge no more than
700 Kenyan shillings ($6.77) for an economy-class ticket.
4. 4. Kenyatta
announced that the new railway would be named the Madaraka Express. Madaraka, a
Swahili word meaning responsibility or power, is also the name of Kenya’s Independence
Day, celebrated on June 1 each year.
5. 5. President
Kenyatta has threatened to sign into law the death penalty for anyone guilty of
vandalizing the train line. “I want to firmly state today that those who will
be prosecuted and found guilty of vandalizing a property belonging to all
Kenyans; will face the death penalty.”
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