Development Strategy

By the end of 1885, the western section of the Northern Railway had officially opened to traffic, while the Hesse Railway was still unfinished. The Hesse Railway was far more difficult to build than the western section of the Northern Railway.

Because the western section of the Northern Railway had been completed, the Mombasa city government held a separate discussion on the matter.

As Mombasa city was the starting point of the Northern Railway, the wider the area reached by the railway, the more beneficial it would be for boosting Mombasa city's economic and political standing.

In reality, over the past few years, Dar es Salaam city had consistently kept Mombasa city under its thumb due to the Central Railway's astonishing length advantage and its vast economic hinterland.

The clearest example was that the population, resources, and number of cities along the Northern Railway were all far inferior to those along the Central Railway.

Therefore, Mombasa city strongly welcomed the construction of the western section of the Northern Railway and its connection with the Central Railway at Kisangani city. Only then would it have greater momentum to compete with Dar es Salaam city, the number one in the East African economy.

From the perspective of East African domestic economic geography, Mombasa city held no advantage. However, when it came to connections with foreign countries and linking them to East Africa, Mombasa city's advantage became apparent: it was closer to the Eurasian continent than Dar es Salaam city.

To the north, Mogadishu city focused on agricultural exports, and its environmental carrying capacity was poor, leaving it unable to compete with Mombasa city and Dar es Salaam city.

"The gap between western and eastern East Africa is enormous, and the Northern Railway is an important factor in changing that. It means that