The LAPSSET Railway Project is a proposed regional standard-gauge railway connecting Lamu Port in Kenya with South Sudan and Ethiopia. The approved alignment extends from Lamu through Garissa to Isiolo, then branches from Isiolo through Nginyang and Nakodok to Juba and through Moyale to Addis Ababa; the approved concept also includes a Nairobi-Isiolo connection. The complete network is approximately 2,900 km long. The approved technical baseline specifies a 1,435 mm standard gauge, electric traction, a passenger design speed of up to 160 km/h and a freight design speed of up to 120 km/h. Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan are the project-location countries, while Uganda is also identified as a beneficiary country.
The railway is intended to provide landlocked South Sudan and Ethiopia with an additional connection to the Indian Ocean through Lamu Port and to support the movement of passengers, heavy freight, oil products and other non-pipeline petroleum products along the corridor.
The LAPSSET Railway Project forms the railway component of the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor. Its approved purpose is to create a new regional rail connection from the Indian Ocean coast through northern Kenya to Ethiopia and South Sudan. The route begins at Lamu Port, runs through Garissa to Isiolo, and then divides into two international branches. One branch continues through Nginyang and Nakodok to Juba in South Sudan, while the other continues through Moyale to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. The approved concept also includes a railway connection between Nairobi and Isiolo.
The approved regional network is approximately 2,900 km long. The PIDA PAP II submission specifies a 1,435 mm standard gauge and electric-powered railway technology, with design speeds of up to 160 km/h for passenger trains and 120 km/h for freight trains. The planned railway is intended to carry passengers, heavy goods, oil products and other non-pipeline petroleum products, including bulk fuel oil, bitumen and liquefied petroleum gas, between Lamu Port and demand centres along the corridor. These are planned design parameters and must not be reported as completed or operational capacity.
The project is regional in both geography and governance. Ethiopia, Kenya and South Sudan are the member states and project locations recorded in the approved PAP II submission. Uganda is also identified as a beneficiary country. IGAD is the regional economic community and the IGAD Secretariat is identified as the project institution. The project is aligned with Kenya Vision 2030 and the IGAD Regional Infrastructure Master Plan. Implementation will require coordinated technical standards, cross-border operating rules, environmental and social safeguards, land and corridor protection, institutional agreements and financing arrangements across the participating countries.
The submitted project-cost baseline is USD 12.0 billion. This amount should remain the historical PAP II baseline until a later consolidated cost is supported by an approved regional study. The approved-project record identifies S2A - Pre-Feasibility as the last known milestone. The PIDA Investment Prospectus status history also records Pre-Feasibility in 2020, 2022 and 2024. These dated status entries should control the historical annual records rather than retrospectively applying the current feasibility label.
The current PIDA Investment Prospectus displays the project at Feasibility, or 50 percent progress. It identifies the remaining work as completion of comprehensive feasibility studies across the project, mobilisation of technical assistance for detailed designs, establishment of a corridor-coordination mechanism, completion of environmental and social assessments, development of PPP frameworks and securing of financing commitments. Contractors and operators remain to be determined through competitive procurement after project structuring and financing.
Other LAPSSET investments must not be used as evidence of railway construction. Progress on Lamu Port, highways, pipelines, airports, resort cities, the refinery, the multipurpose dam or communications systems belongs to separate components of the wider corridor.
The project aims to establish a modern regional railway connecting Lamu Port with Ethiopia and South Sudan and to provide the two landlocked countries with an additional, reliable route to maritime services. It is intended to reduce transport costs and transit times, improve the movement of passengers and heavy freight, and support the delivery of oil products and other non-pipeline petroleum products to demand centres along the corridor.
The railway also aims to strengthen regional integration and trade among Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan and other beneficiary markets, including Uganda. By improving access to ports, logistics centres and regional markets, it is expected to support industrial and agricultural development, enable more efficient movement of bulk commodities, stimulate investment along the corridor and reduce pressure on parallel road networks. The project further seeks to establish harmonised cross-border railway infrastructure and operating arrangements across the participating countries.