African Studies Quarterly published in October 2020 an analysis titled "Kenya's New Lunatic Express: The Standard Gauge Railway," by Ian Taylor, University of St. Andrews.
The Chinese-built and financed standard gauge railway linking Mombasa and Nairobi and beyond has been portrayed as the center piece of the Belt and Road Initiative in East Africa. Both China and Kenya have represented the railway as a prime example of Sino-African cooperation. However, serious issues in terms of the railway's cost, viability, and practicality suggest it increasingly is seen in Kenya as an expensive white elephant beset with numerous intractable problems.
