CMA CGM launches weekly Mombasa–Nairobi freight train

Tuesday 3rd November 2026

By inAfrika Newsroom

CMA CGM has introduced a dedicated weekly freight train between the Port of Mombasa and Nairobi’s Embakasi Inland Container Depot, adding an inland leg to its shipping services in Kenya. The company launched the service on 28 October in cooperation with Kenya Ports Authority and Kenya Railways.

According to CMA CGM’s announcement, the train has 54 wagons and capacity for 108 twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs. A TEU measures container capacity: a standard forty-foot container occupies two TEUs, so the figure should not be read as 108 forty-foot boxes.

The initial service carries containerised imports from Mombasa towards Nairobi and operates once a week. CMA CGM says it will use this phase to assess demand before deciding whether to increase departures or introduce a return service to Mombasa.

The development is the carrier’s first dedicated full block train on this route, not the introduction of rail freight to Kenya. A block train groups freight into a dedicated train movement, giving the shipping company another way to connect its ocean bookings with inland delivery.

The announcement does not disclose a tariff or guaranteed end-to-end transit time.

The new service also comes as East African shippers navigate changes in maritime networks and port conditions. InAfrika has separately reported on port delays affecting Dar es Salaam and Mombasa, making the reliability of the inland connection a practical part of routing decisions.

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