Nairobi, May 31 -- The standard gauge railway (SGR) passenger business has crossed the Sh1 billion quarterly revenue mark for the first time, helped by a rebound in traveller numbers and higher earnings per customer.

Fresh data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows passenger revenue rose 15.8 percent to Sh1.08 billion in the January-March 2026 period from Sh936.3 million a year earlier, marking the highest first-quarter earnings ever recorded by the passenger service.

The milestone came as freight operations powered the railway to a record quarter, with cargo revenue jumping 25.7 percent to Sh4.8 billion and total SGR income climbing to an all-time high of Sh5.89 billion.

Cargo traffic also crossed the two-million-t...