Launched on May 31, 2017, the 472-kilometer line linking the capital Nairobi and the port city of Mombasa was built with the help of China Road and Bridge Corp, a subsidiary of China Communication Construction Corp, and according to Chinese railway standards.

The railway also transported 200,000 standard containers over the past 17 months, China Radio International reported. 

Its trains have travelled a total 846,000 kilometers, a distance equivalent to circling the equator 21 times, CRI reported. 

The line has an average occupancy rate of over 99 percent while reducing travel times between Kenya's two biggest cities from 10 hours to five. 

Rose Mbogo, who was the line's two-millionth passenger, lives in Mombasa as a nurse while her husband works in Nairobi. "The distance used to take 24 hours by bus, but it's much shorter now," Mbogo said, adding that she can meet with her husband three times a week thanks to the rail line. 

Nine stations are open along the Madaraka Express, which supports window ticketing as well as telephone and mobile booking. Tickets can be booked one month in advance. 

Li Xuhang, charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, hailed the operation of the express as promoting Chinese standards, technology, and management experience in the global market. 

"This is only the first step in China-Kenya cooperation in line with the Belt and Road initiative," Li said. 

The impact of the railway is being felt across the business and commercial spectrum, giving credence to the government's strategic objective to develop infrastructure in the country, Kenyan newspaper The Standard reported.