Kenya plans to extend its standard-gauge railway from Voi to the Tanzanian border for both passengers and freight.
The project would complement rail expansions across Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda aimed at stronger regional connections.
Intra-EAC trade rose 27% to $18 billion between June 2024 and June 2025.

Kenya plans to extend its standard-gauge railway (SGR) toward Tanzania, adding a new cross-border connection as East African countries expand transport infrastructure between the region’s ports, economic centers and inland markets.

President William Ruto unveiled the plan on Sunday, September 27. The project, expected to mobilize about 5 billion Kenyan shillings, or roughly $38.5 million, would run from Voi in Taita Taveta County to the Tanzanian border. The railway is intended to carry both passengers and freight and support economic development in the border area.

The announcement comes as Nairobi simultaneously advances the westward extension of its SGR network. The line is due to continue from Naivasha to Kisumu and then to Malaba on the Ugandan border.

That project is intended to strengthen the connection between Kenya’s railway network and the transport corridor that serves markets across East Africa.

Toward a regional rail network

The Voi-Taveta initiative forms part of a broader drive to develop cross-border transport infrastructure in East Africa. Tanzania is also expanding its SGR network, with extensions planned toward several countries in the region, including Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Uganda, meanwhile, is developing its own standard-gauge railway network, with the aim of strengthening its rail connection with Kenya.

Over time, these different projects could help create a more integrated railway network around East Africa’s main ports and economic centers. A connection between the Kenyan and Tanzanian rail networks is particularly important for the movement of goods between the ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam and the region’s inland markets.

Rail is not the only route East African countries are pursuing to strengthen regional integration. The East African Community (EAC) also supports several cross-border road projects. Among them is the 193-km multinational Kenya-Uganda highway, which is designed to connect Kisumu and Busia in Kenya with Kakira and Malaba in Uganda. The project also calls for the modernization of several border posts to facilitate the movement of goods and people.

The increase in transport infrastructure projects comes as trade within the EAC continues to grow. According to data published by the regional organization, intra-EAC trade increased from $14.2 billion to $18 billion between June 2024 and June 2025, a rise of 27%.

A project that must fit with existing infrastructure

The new SGR project announced by Nairobi also concerns an area where another railway connection is already under rehabilitation. In April 2026, the Kenyan government launched reconstruction work on the meter-gauge Voi-Mwatate-Taveta railway.

That older railway, which has been out of service for nearly 20 years, is intended in particular to help restore trade links with northern Tanzania. A dry port is also planned in Voi. The two projects therefore do not use the same railway standard. The line currently under rehabilitation is meter gauge, while the newly announced Voi-Tanzania section would be built as new standard-gauge infrastructure.

How the two projects are integrated could therefore become an important issue, both to avoid a proliferation of parallel infrastructure along the same corridor and to make better use of the logistics capacity available in Voi and the border area.

The main challenge for the Voi-Tanzania SGR project, however, will be turning the proposal into an operational cross-border railway beyond the initial funding announcement. The project will notably require close coordination with Tanzania on the route, railway standards, customs procedures and the financing of infrastructure on both sides of the border.

Henoc Dossa