Kenya has cemented it position has the regional transport hub in east Africa with a $13.8 billion standard gauge railway line that will be financed and built by China. It will run from the port city of Mombasa to five east Africa countries.

K24 reported President Uhuru Kenyatta formally launched the construction of a new standard gauge railway line on Thursday, which will extend across East Africa to reach South Sudan, DR Congo and Burundi. This will be the country’s biggest infrastructure project since independence 50 years ago. The railway line has never been extended or improved upon since its construction during the British colonial era in the early 1900’s.

The first section will link the Kenyan port of Mombasa to the capital, Nairobi, reducing the journey time from 15 hours to about four. After the Nairobi section is finished, with completion due in 2017, it will be extended through Uganda, with branch lines west to Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of Congo, south through Rwanda to Burundi and north to South Sudan.

Passenger trains will travel at a top speed of 120 km/h (75 mph), while freight trains will have a maximum speed of 80 km/h.