Nairobi-Naivasha standard gauge railway project hits key milestone

Construction of the Nairobi-Naivasha standard gauge railway has reached a major milestone, with the contractor expecting to complete works on the 4.5-kilometre Em-Bulbul tunnel in the next five months.

China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) has disclosed that its engineers are working round the clock to complete the tunnel by August as they race to complete the Nairobi-Naivasha railway by June next year.

“So far 1.2km is complete from the exit end, 0.8km from the entry side of the tunnel and 0.5km from the mid-section,” CCCC spokesman Steve Zhao said in a statement.

“The construction is taking place simultaneously to ensure that we complete all the work within the stipulated time.”

Em-Bulbul tunnel in Kajiado County is the first of the three sections of the 7.14-kilometre tunnel planned on the 120-kilometre Nairobi-Naivasha standard gauge railway.

The other two sections of the tunnel cover 1-kilometre and 1.64-kilometre.

The Em-Bulbul tunnel is designed as a single-track railway underpass with a clearance height of 7.6 metres and a width of 6.4 metres built using the three-bench seven-step excavation method.

This involves the creation of a series of steps in the upright wall of a pit to reduce wall height and ensure firmness during construction.

CCCC says the Em-Bulbul SGR tunnel is the second longest railway tunnel in Africa.

The current longest single railway tunnel in Africa is 15.5km-long and is located along the Gautrain line between Johannesburg Park Station and Marlboro Portal. The tunnel was broken through in September 2009.

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