Barely a week after the Standard Gauge Railway trains were officially launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta, passengers have already started complaining about the services being offered.
One passenger who spoke to Kenyans.co.ke boarded the train from Nairobi to Mombasa and acknowledged that it was a noble project but said a number of things needed to be improved.
First among them was ticketing and he stated that there was basically no difference between a first-class ticket holder and the rest because there was no priority that was given to the latter in terms of queuing and check-ins.
After the invention of mobile money transfer and payment systems, many expected the SGR project to incorporate a sort of cashless system but this has not been effected.
You can only pay for your ticket using cash.
The signage in most of the stations is also faulty and inaccurate thus confusing some commuters who might not be familiar with the various counters.
There is also word going around that some Chinese are not paying when they go to board the trains and their excuse, "we can speak with the authorities."
Corruption has also raised its ugly head after it emerged that some of the security guys are buying bulk tickets and selling them at a slightly higher price to commuters who are in a 'hurry'.
That said, most passengers who have tried out the new service said it was one worth mentioning due to the spectacular scenery of the Tsavo National Park enjoyed as the train snakes its way to Mombasa.
Hopefully, all these problems will be resolved soon enough.
