麻豆约拍

In late 2017 Kenya is due to have a new railway line linking the capital city of Nairobi with the port city of Mombasa. The Standard Gauge Railway is costing almost 14bn dollars, funded mostly by China, and is being billed as Kenya鈥檚 most ambitious infrastructure project since the country gained independence in 1963. The new line plans to cut the journey time between Nairobi and Mombasa to about 4 hours and will allow around 25 million tonnes of freight to be carried each year.

Critics however say that it is costing too much and that it will be plagued by delays due to the fact that it is a single line track. The current railway line takes over 12 hours and is known as the 鈥渓unatic express鈥�, due to the thousands of workers who died during its construction at the end of the 19th century, several were killed by man-eating lions. The line is now notorious for its long delays, often breaking down en-route leaving passengers stranded for hours or even days. The 麻豆约拍鈥檚 Joshua Thorpe went on board.

(Image: A Maasai man walks in front of the stationary Nairobi to Mombasa train. Credit: Vivienne Nunis)