CMA CGM starts Mombasa–Nairobi block train with 108 TEU capacity

CMA CGM is now moving 108 TEUs per train between the Port of Mombasa and the Nairobi-Embakasi Inland Container Depot, after launching its first dedicated block train service on the corridor on 28 October 2026.

The French carrier runs the service with 54 wagons and, for now, one departure per week. Loads are imports only — boxes off ships at Mombasa, hauled inland to Kenya's main economic centre. That's the whole initial proposition. Simple, but it changes who controls the inland leg.

CMA CGM built the product with two state partners: the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC). It sits inside a broader push by the carrier to widen its inland logistics footprint across East Africa, where carriers that own the rail leg can promise shippers a door-level service rather than handing off at the quay.

What does this change for shippers?

For importers into Nairobi, the immediate gain is a scheduled, carrier-controlled rail slot instead of relying on road haulage or ad hoc rail capacity. CMA CGM links the train directly to its maritime services, which means the ocean and inland legs can be booked as one product — the integrated offering forwarders increasingly compete on.

The carrier is deliberately starting small. One train a week, imports only, while it gauges customer demand. If volumes hold, CMA CGM says it may raise frequency and add a return service from Nairobi back to Mombasa — which would open export and repositioning flows on the same wagons.

Naveen Prabhu, Deputy Regional Director for East Africa at CMA CGM, framed the launch as strategic rather than operational. "Today's launch is an important milestone for CMA CGM in Kenya. Our ambition is to strengthen connectivity between the sea, the port and inland economies," he said. He also credited the Kenyan government, KPA, KRC and customers for developing the service.

On the government side, Mohamed Daghar, Principal Secretary for Transport at Kenya's Ministry of Roads and Transport, backed the corridor logic. "Partnerships between maritime and rail transport stakeholders help connect infrastructure, businesses and markets," he said, adding that stronger links between Mombasa and inland economic centres matter for the country's logistics network.

Where it fits in CMA CGM's Kenya playbook

The block train is not the carrier's first inland move in the country. It adds to existing logistics activities including the Kilima service, and CMA CGM is also working with the Bandari Maritime Academy to train maritime and logistics professionals — a signal that it sees its Kenya presence as long-term, not opportunistic.

For KPA and KRC, a committed carrier-backed block train puts guaranteed volumes on the metre-gauge corridor's standard-gauge successor infrastructure and strengthens the case for rail over trucking between the coast and the capital.

What happens next

The expansion path is explicit and conditional: frequency rises and the Nairobi–Mombasa return leg arrives only if demand and the performance of the initial weekly service justify it. Shippers with regular import volumes into Nairobi now have a reason to test the train early — carriers reward the demand data they can see.