The Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) has unveiled a new train expected to ease traffic on the busy Mombasa Road.
In a statement, the corporation noted that the new train will ply the the Nairobi - Athi River/Lukenya route and is expected to have a capacity of 1,000 people per trip.
The train, which was scheduled to take its maiden trip on Monday, September 6, is scheduled to operate on the route every day and will depart Athi River at 9:20am.
In the evening, the train has been slotted to depart Nairobi Railway Station at 7:20pm for Athi River.
In its morning trip, the train will make stop-overs at Mlolongo for two minutes at 9:39 am, Embakasi (9:57am), Imara Daima (10:12am) and Makadara (10:26am).
In the evening trip, the stop-overs will be at Makadara (07:45pm), Imara Daima (07:51pm), Embakasi (08:14pm) and Mlolongo (08:32 pm).
The new addition is complementary to the already existing train that serves the Lukenya route in the morning leaving at 05:45am, and returning at 6pm in the evening.
The new addition is the first step by KRC in helping reducing the heavy traffic snarl up along Mombasa Road, which has in some occasions, seen motorists spend the night on the road.
"I am most concerned about Nairobi, Athi River and Lukenya simply because of our partnership with KeNHA (Kenya National Highways Authority) who are constructing the highway."
"Most of the Kenyans are not aware the we actually run these trains on a daily basis and they are getting stuck on the road," stated Philip Mainga, the KRC Managing Director.
He further noted that some motorists opted to go through Lang'ata all the way to Rongai and Kiserian before reconnecting to Athi River through Kitengela.
Some of the train users have praised the swift nature in which Kenya Railways has ensured that trains depart on time to ensure commuters arrive to their destinations on time.
The construction of Nairobi Expressway, which is slated to end in June 2022, has caused massive disruptions on Mombasa Road and some parts of Waiyaki Way.
