Kenya Railways Makes Changes in Mombasa Road Train Service

An undated image of the Kenya Railways DF8B locomotive
An undated image of the Kenya Railways DF8B locomotive
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Kenya Railways

Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) has unveiled changes on the Mombasa Road train service in an attempt to reduce traffic on the highway.

In a statement released on Tuesday, September 1, the corporation announced that it had altered the train schedule between Kitengela and Nairobi's Central Business District.

There will be two trains linking Lukenya and Nairobi with the first scheduled to leave the station at 5:45 a.m. to arrive in the city at 7:40 a.m.

The second train has been scheduled to leave Lukenya at 7:00 a.m. to arrive in the city at 8:55 a.m.

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Kenya Railways MD Philip Mainga (standing) and Nzoia Sugar MD Wanjala Makokha address the media on Thursday, January 28, 2021
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"To serve you better, we have revised Nairobi Central station to Kitengela route schedule.

"The second morning train will be leaving Lukenya station (Kitengela) at 7:00 am while the last evening train will be leaving Nairobi Central Station to Lukenya station at 18:40hrs," read the statement in part.

In the evening, the first train will depart for Lukenya at 5:50 p.m. to arrive at 7:45 p.m. while the second will leave at 6:40 p.m. to arrive at 8:35 p.m.

This change comes just a day after the corporation introduced another train to service the Athi River - Nairobi route.

The train is estimated to carry a total of 1,000 people per trip and significantly reduce traffic along the busy Mombasa 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 Kenyans are not aware that we actually run these trains on a daily basis and they are getting stuck on the road," KRC Managing Director Philip Mainga stated. 

The construction of the Nairobi Expressway, which is slated to end in June 2022, has caused massive disruptions on Mombasa Road and some parts of Waiyaki Way.

Heavy traffic along Mombasa Road on Saturday, July 3, 2021.
Heavy traffic along Mombasa Road on Saturday, July 3, 2021.
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Ma3Route