Kenyans will from Saturday start booking their Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) tickets via SMS on a new mobile platform.
Kenya Railways on Thursday announced that it had launched an SMS based payment platform utilizing USSD to enable Kenyans book and pay for tickets on their mobile phones.
Those seeking to buy tickets will be required to dial *639# code in order to book, pay and even cancel tickets for the train which has been christened Madaraka Express.
The SMS based USSD code will also enable passengers to immediately make payments through M-Pesa to secure their tickets to the Mombasa, Nairobi, Voi and Mtito Andei passenger terminals.
Using the new service, passengers will be able to make up to 5 bookings at a go and will also allow them to purchase tickets up to seven days in advance.
The body also stated that it was developing an online booking portal which will allow online payment service providers to connect to the booking system.
However, this service, according to Kenya Railways, would be launched in coming weeks.
In June, the organisation introduced a number that passengers would call to get assistance to book and pay for the tickets instead of travelling to the stations.
Last week, the Madaraka Express marked its first 100 days in operation with at least 273,000 passengers having used the train since it was launched in May.
