NAIROBI, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Some 1.25 million passengers used Kenya's standard gauge railway (SGR) passenger train service in the first half of this year, up 10.6 percent from a similar period in 2022, Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) said Tuesday.

The KRC said in a report that most of the travelers in the first six months of 2023 were ferried in January, April and May, thanks to the Easter holiday and schools closing and reopening.

The increase in the volume of passengers points to sustained demand for the service due to its convenience and affordability, not only by holidaymakers heading to the coast but also by students and ordinary travelers.

The SGR cargo trains hauled 3.8 million metric tons of cargo in the first six months of the year, an increase of about 28 percent from 2.98 million in a similar period in 2022, said the KRC.