Nairobi, March 10 -- Some 430 wagons arrived in Kenya early this week, barely two weeks after another 50 were commissioned at the port of Mombasa, signalling the government's new bid to boost railway cargo volumes.

Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) says this new batch will raise its wagons to 1,900 and help in meeting its target to ferry more than 11 million tonnes annually to Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo via SGR from Mombasa to Naivasha and to Malaba via the metre gauge railway.

Shippers say they support use of railway as a complement to road transport but only if it brings reliability and efficiency in the supply chain.

Read: Kenya buys 300 SGR wagons

"After bringing in the additional wagons, KPA needs...