Kenya Railways has invited private sector stakeholders to an Early Market Engagement forum ahead of the implementation of the World Bank-backed Kenya Urban Mobility Improvement Project.
In its public notice on Tuesday, Kenya Railways said the project will also improve transport efficiency and land-use coordination around commuter rail corridors through a mix of infrastructure development, policy, and institutional reforms.
“The project objective is to improve urban mobility within the Nairobi Metropolitan Area and land use planning along the identified commuter corridors. The project will support urban policy formulation, institutional strengthening, and improvement of commuter rail services, station access roads, and transit-oriented development (TOD) around railway stations,” the notice stated.
Among the flagship components of the programme is the development of the Nairobi Central Station–Thika commuter rail corridor and the electrification of the Nairobi commuter railway network.
Other planned investments include the acquisition of Electric Multiple Units (EMUs) and Diesel Electric Multiple Units (DEMUs), construction of maintenance workshops, development of rolling stock spare-parts manufacturing facilities, and establishment of a concrete sleeper production plant.
The project will also finance the construction of access roads linking commuter railway stations, multimodal transfer facilities, and the proposed Likoni Road over Railway Bridge, together with its associated road approaches.
According to Kenya Railways, implementation will be undertaken jointly with other government agencies and county governments within the Nairobi Metropolitan Area.
“The key project activities will include development of Nairobi Central Station–Thika Commuter Line, electrification of the Nairobi Commuter Railway Network, acquisition of trainsets, planning and development of Transit Oriented Developments along the Nairobi Central Station–Thika commuter corridor, development and equipping of maintenance workshops, and construction of prioritized access roads to commuter railway stations,” the corporation said.
To support planning and procurement, Kenya Railways has invited private sector stakeholders and industry players to a consultative meeting scheduled for June 24, 2026, at the Railway Training Institute in South B, Nairobi.
The engagement is intended to provide information on the project, expected procurement packages and implementation arrangements while gathering industry feedback on pricing, procurement approaches, supply chain risks, market trends and emerging technologies.
“The consultation will also serve as a market sounding exercise to obtain industry feedback for the preparation of the Project Procurement Strategy. Stakeholders are strongly encouraged to participate in this process and to use the meeting as an opportunity to ask questions and provide comments regarding this upcoming project procurement opportunity,” the notice added.
Interested participants have been asked to confirm attendance by June 21 through Kenya Railways' procurement department to facilitate both physical and online participation.
Kenya Railways noted that discussions during the engagement will be non-binding and that all future procurement processes under the project will be conducted competitively in accordance with World Bank procurement regulations.