Commuters are set to acquire an improved railway service with the development of the Nairobi Commuter Rail Service (NCRS) development as part of the Nairobi Metropolitan Transport Master Plan.
The upgrading of the facilities is expected to reduce congestion as it provides an efficient and affordable traffic alternative to individuals who commute into and out of the Nairobi Central Business District.
Already some stations have received a facelift with the addition of facilities to make the railway transport more attractive to commuters.
By November 2019, 10 commuter railway stations had undergone refurbishment in preparation for the changes.
With works ongoing, the changes are visible leaving the previously underutilised train stations with an appealing look.
In a previous communication, Kenya Railways revealed that the upgrade of the railway would be conducted in phases.
Phase one involves the refurbishment of the existing railway corridors to provide commuter rail services between Nairobi Railway Station and destinations such as Ruiru, Syokimau, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Kikuyu and Embakasi village.
Among the improvements in the stations include the ballasting of the lines with the exercise at the Embakasi line almost complete. The stations are also fitted with an automatic ticketing system.
The new-look stations were modernized and have CCTV camera monitoring, server rooms as well as security screening areas.
On September 7, Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) Director General Mohammed Badi announced that 11 trains were in the high seas on their journey to Kenya.
The 11 used diesel trains from Spain, are part of a Ksh1.1 billion plan for a commuter train service that connects the city centre to the estates.
The trains will see an increase in passenger capacity from five million passengers to 15 million passengers initially, then to 60 million passengers per year in Phase 1.
Phase two of the project will be within the existing railway corridor and will extend commuter rail services to: Thika, Limuru, and Lukenya.
On the other hand, Phase three will be within new railway corridors and will target the outlying satellite towns such as Ongata Rongai, Kiserian, Ngong, Kiambu, Ruai and Kangemi.
In addition, the Nairobi Commuter System plans to add new stations at Buru Buru, Pipeline, Umoja, Githurai, Donholm.
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