The contruction of new rail lines is steaming ahead in Kenya, where workers are busy laying tracks for the Mombasa-Nairobi Line, a passenger and cargo link that's set to be a cornerstone of the region's transport system. A section of the track traverses one of Kenya's world-famous wildlife parks, and builders there have come up with some creative solutions to preserve the area's unspoiled natural beauty. CGTN's Vauldi Carelse has more.  

It's a place like no other - a wildlife park surrounded by a city. Nairobi National Park is home to hundreds of wildlife - It's Kenya's oldest reserve. And currently, part of it is an unusual building site. Workers laying the next phase of the Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway have been busy here since February.

With the link between Mombasa and Nairobi opened last year, the plan now is for Phase 2A - to take the SGR north-west from the capital - out to Naivasha, and from there toward the border with Uganda around 500km away.

Going through this park was bound to attract concerns about the environmental damage. The building company has come up with what it hopes is the solution.

An elevated line, built on 114 pillars - some towering 40 metres above the landscape.

STEVE ZHAO CHINA COMMUNICATIONS CONSTRUCTION COMPANY "In Phase 2A we have three tunnels, the first tunnel is about 4.5 kms which is the longest tunnel in East African countries and we have four super bridges, the place we are standing is called Nairobi National Park super bridge, the length is 6.5 kms."

VAULDI CARELSE NAIROBI, KENYA "We're on top of one of the pillars about twelve meters from the ground. And as you can see it will provide train commuters with an unspoiled view of Nairobi National Park. But it was the impact on the animals in the park that environmentalists were most concerned with."

STEVE ZHAO CHINA COMMUNICATIONS CONSTRUCTION COMPANY "As a responsible contractor, we also pay attention to the environment protections, as you can see our employees are doing vegetation restoration. Let me say we are already starting the environmental protection. We want to maintain the original surface for this park."

Park manager Kenya Wildlife Service also set out guidelines.

PAUL GATHITU, SPOKESPERSON KENYA WILDLIFE SERVICE "Every day we are there, we are checking, we are seeing as they are doing the construction. If there is anything we are unhappy with or if we notice they aren't following whatever was laid out, we are able to point. We are right there and correct in very good time."

The contractor will also install a noise barrier - to cut down the noise as the train passes through. The Naivasha link is due for completion by June 2019. For passengers, this promises to be a spectacular part of the journey. For the wildlife, hopefully, it'll be just another part of the landscape. Vauldi Carelse, CGTN, Nairobi, Kenya.