The Kenya Railways Corporation has cautioned Kenyans seeking the Madaraka Express tickets to go through the right channels to avoid falling victim to fraud.
In a notice on Tuesday, August 12, the corporation relayed that tickets for the Nairobi-Mombasa train could only be accessed through three distinct channels.
These include booking online at metickets.krc.co.ke, using the USSD code *639# and finally, they can be bought physically at any Madaraka Express Passenger service stations.
"We urge the public to remain vigilant and book exclusively through our official Kenya Railways platforms. Protect yourself from fraud!" the warning read.
The Madaraka Express is a passenger train service that runs on the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line and primarily travels between Mombasa and Nairobi, with stops at several other stations along the way, including Athi River, Emali, Kibwezi, Mtito Andei, Voi, Miasenyi, and Mariakani.
It offers two train services, including the Intercounty train, which makes stops at all the stations along the route, and the Express train, which travels non-stop between Mombasa and Nairobi.
The warning by Kenya Railways comes just a few days after the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) reported a downward trend in the number of passengers using the train service.
In KNBS's latest Leading Economic Indicators report, it was revealed that the SGR service had shed 2,082 passengers in the first three months of the year.
Reportedly, passengers across January, February, and March 2025 were 529,591, dropping from 531,673 passengers from the same period in 2024.
In January, the numbers dropped from 192,376 passengers in the previous year to just 188,238 passengers. February, however, saw an increase, recording 168,897 passengers, up from 158,652 in 2024.
The numbers dropped again in March, having 172,456 commuters in 2025 compared to 180,645 passengers in the previous year.
Despite this, SGR saw increased revenues during the same period under review, possibly due to the hiked fares in January, recording a revenue of Ksh936,299,658, which was an increase from Ksh880,819,035 during the same period in 2024.
