Two female engine drivers gesture before the operations of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Mombasa, Kenya, on May 31, 2017. Kenya began operations on the Chinese-built SGR Wednesday. (Xinhua/Sun Ruibo) 

Kenya began operations on the Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) Wednesday in a drive to revolutionize its transportation sector and speed up industrialization.

The 480-km SGR stretches from the port of Mombasa to Kenya's capital Nairobi, involving a total investment of $3.8 billion, which makes it the African country's largest infrastructure project since its independence.