High cargo, passenger numbers push up SGR revenues to Sh21.4 billion

Increased cargo haulage via rail and high passenger numbers drove up revenues for the Standard Gauge Railway, hitting Sh21.4 billion in 2025.

This is an 18 per cent jump from Sh18 billion recorded from both passenger and cargo operations in 2024, the Economic Survey 2026 now shows.

Cargo volumes went up by 12.3 per cent to 7.33 million tonnes last year from 6.53 million tonnes in 2024, lifting revenues to Sh16.6 billion.

SGR passenger numbers increased by 11.6 per cent to 2.7 million in 2025 from 2.4 million people in 2024, leading to a passenger revenue growth of 17 per cent to Sh4.79 billion.

“The increase in passengers and revenue was largely attributed to the deployment of additional trains, particularly during the holiday period in December 2025, when travel demand was high,” Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) says in its report.

This is a turnaround from 2024, when both freight and passenger numbers went down from those in 2023, as the transport sector, including road and air, remained among key drivers of the economy, where together with storage, the sectors accounted for 11.8 per cent of the GDP.

“The growth was largely supported by increased activities in road, railway transport and services incidental to water transportation,” KNBS notes.

The transportation and storage sector plays a vital role in Kenya’s economy by facilitating the efficient movement of people, goods and services within the country, across the region and globally.

The sector supports trade, industrial growth, and overall national development by enhancing connectivity and reducing logistical barriers.

Growth in SGR freight volumes and revenue came with a rise in cargo throughput at the Port of Mombasa, which last year grew 11.2 per cent to hit a new high 45.6 million metric tonnes.

Over the same period, total imports rose by 20.1 per cent to 36 million metric tonnes, and total transit cargo increased by 19.5 per cent to 15.9 million metric tonnes, with Uganda accounting for 68.7 per cent of total transit.

Railway performance on the Metre Gauge Railway (MGR) also recorded a 5.2 per cent increase in cargo to 1.1 million tonnes in 2025, although revenue declined by 2.7 per cent to Sh1.86 billion.

Passenger numbers also increased by 8.2 per cent to 2.7 million, although revenue also decreased by 3.1 per cent, which has been attributed to disruptions on the Nairobi–Kisumu route.

In air transport, passenger traffic declined from 12.8 million in 2024 to 12.7 million in 2025 on reduced travel activities. Transportation of cargo, however, rose by 12.5 per cent to 419,751 tonnes, with Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) handling 97.3 per cent of total cargo in 2025.

Aircraft movements grew by 5.3 per cent to 380,305, with overflights rising by 12.5 per cent to 72,925 during the period under review. Aviation personnel licenses grew by 5.0 per cent to 15,147, while valid Air Transport Pilot Licences declined by 5.8 per cent.

Postal and courier services continued to contract, with the number of post offices decreasing from 623 to 457, domestic letters declining by 5.7 per cent, and domestic parcels decreasing by 17.2 per cent.