President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday reduced the cost of riding on the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) trains from Sh900 to Sh700.
The President announced that every Kenyan travelling from Mombasa to Nairobi should pay no more than 700 and stated that stern action would be taken against anyone who charges more that the announced amount.
He also announced that it would cost a maximum of Sh50,000 to move a container from Mombasa to Nairobi.
Earlier reports had indicated that passengers would pay Sh900 for economy class tickets and Sh3000 for first class tickets when using the Standard Gauge Railway trains to ply the Nairobi-Mombasa Route.
Kenyatta did not put a restriction on the first class tickets stating that those interested in more comfort should pay the amount set by the railway management.
The new price now makes the SGR the cheapest way to travel from Mombasa to Nairobi as buses charge approximately Sh 1,200 whereas going by air would cost approximately Sh10,000.
The President made the announcement during the official launch of the SGR train which he and senior government officials will board to Nairobi today.
The SGR tickets will be electronic in order to allow staff working at the trains to schedule the stops.
Three passenger trains will be expected to run daily between Nairobi and Mombasa to enable the SGR to be economically viable.
Two of the trains will operate an express service between Nairobi and Mombasa while the third train will be intercounty.
"The three trains will run daily for the first three years, but if there is a need to add others we will do so according to the capacity. As the urban centres along the SGR grow, the hinterlands around them will get a ripple effect," Transport Principal Secretary Paul Mwangi stated.
There will be seven stopovers on the routes namely Mariakani, Voi, Mtito Andei, Kibwezi, Emali, Miaseni and Athi River and more than 30 smaller stations to benefit local residents.
The SGR passenger capacity is 3600.
Here is the SGR schedule and price chart:
