CMA CGM launched a dedicated block train service between Mombasa and Nairobi, enhancing logistics and connectivity for cargo owners.
CMA CGM launched its first dedicated full-block train service between the Port of Mombasa and the Nairobi-Embakasi Inland Container Depot on October 28. The move strengthens the group's inland logistics capabilities in Kenya and provides cargo owners with a scheduled rail link from the coast to the country's capital.
The service operates with 54 wagons and has a capacity of 108 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units, the standard measure for container volume). Initially, it will operate once a week. CMA CGM developed the service in partnership with the Kenya Ports Authority and Kenya Railways Corporation.
A full-block train carries a single operator's containers as one unit from origin to destination. This structure offers shippers a defined weekly departure from Mombasa to Nairobi, where the Embakasi depot manages containers bound for the capital and surrounding markets.
For cargo owners moving goods inland, a dedicated train adds a fixed rail option alongside road haulage. It supports more predictable planning for inventory, delivery commitments, and onward distribution. Freight forwarders gain a new routing choice to incorporate into their service offerings for clients, while importers benefit from an additional option.
CMA CGM is taking a measured approach to the launch. In the first phase, the company will assess customer demand. It will also explore options to increase service frequency and introduce a return service from Nairobi to Mombasa.
A return leg would extend the corridor's value to exporters and businesses repositioning containers back to the coast. For now, the weekly southbound-to-inland schedule forms the foundation on which the company plans to build.
The rail launch follows a major commitment at the port itself. In May, CMA CGM announced plans to invest around EUP700 million (US$820 million) to renovate and expand two container terminals at the Port of Mombasa.
The port operates two container terminals: Container Terminal 1 and Kipevu Container Terminal (CT2). The Kenya Ports Authority runs both, and together they have an annual handling capacity of about 2.3 million TEU.
Taken together, the terminal investment and the new rail service connect two stages of the supply chain. Containers arriving by sea at Mombasa can now move inland on a dedicated CMA CGM train, which ties the group's maritime operations more closely to Kenya's interior.
The block train joins a broader set of inland logistics solutions that CMA CGM Group is developing in Kenya to complement its maritime services. These include the Kilima service.
The group is also investing in people. Through its renewed partnership with Bandari Maritime Academy in Mombasa, CMA CGM supports local skills development for Kenya's maritime and logistics sector.
