The Standard Gauge Railway trains have been in operation for close to a month now and passengers have been enjoying the service, albeit with some hiccups here and there.
One of the recent challenges was the emergence of middlemen who sold the tickets at a slightly higher price, creating artificial shortages that make it seem like the waggons are fully booked.
Kenya Railways has today announced a deal with Safaricom that will allow passengers to pay for their tickets via M-Pesa, after which they will be issued with tickets at the station upon arrival.
This move will go a long way in easing congestion at the train stations where commuters have occasionally complained of long queues and lack of privilege to first-class ticket holders.
"M-Pesa payments will be ready from today. Safaricom team is on the ground finalising training for 20 ticket issuers who will be based at our stations...," said Kenya Railways Managing Director Atanas Maina.
About nine paybill accounts will be available, representing each terminal.
All the tickets have a travel date, time, travel class, carriage, seat numbers but no name.
The prices of the tickets are still the same, with the economy class going for Sh700 while a first class one is still Sh3000.
After the announcement that Monday 26th is a public holiday marking Idd celebrations, the Nairobi-Mombasa train is fully booked as Kenyans have taken the opportunity to unwind at the coast.
