Chinese rail infrastructure continues full steam ahead in Africa
CGTN
["africa","china"]
China has proved its commitment to Africa over the years with a number of infrastructure projects, which have been gathering pace across the continent. 
The Chinese-built 480km Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) was Kenya's largest ever infrastructure project.
Since the launch of the SGR's first train in May 2017, almost a million people have already used the route, which connects the southern coastal city of Mombasa with the capital Nairobi and has reduced the traveling time between the two cities from 12 hours to just 4 hours. For passengers in Kenya, this new train saves time and money.
The construction of the second phase of the SGR is already underway in Kenya with plans for the SGR to eventually connect to the entire East Africa region, making it easier for landlocked countries to get their goods out to Mombasa. Uganda is already at an advanced stage in its plans to build the track, and Tanzania, Rwanda, and South Sudan are all set to benefit. 
While the 480km journey from Nairobi to Mombasa takes a leisurely four and a half hours, the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway in China sees passengers cover 1,400km in roughly the same time.
China has roughly 22,000km of rail track, accounting for 60 percent of the world's total, and is willing to help other countries to build more railway networks. 
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