Kenya Railways Announces Additions to Mombasa Train

The Mombasa Terminus of the Standard Gauge Railway.
The Mombasa Terminus of the Standard Gauge Railway.
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The Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) has issued an update on the Madaraka Express passenger train ahead of schools closure.

Through a notice issued on Wednesday, September 29, Kenya Railways announced that it has increased the number of coaches for the train.

The move to increase coaches is aimed at catering for students who are set to close schools starting this week and plying the Nairobi - Mombasa route.

Transport CS James Macharia (second left) sanitises his hands while preparing to board a train on Monday, December 7, 2020.
Transport CS James Macharia (second left) sanitises his hands while preparing to board a train on Monday, December 7, 2020.
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The additional coaches to the passenger train will start working on Thursday, September 30, and run all the way to October 14.

Increased coaches will seek to address the high number of passengers including students who will seek to travel home and back to school during the short break.

"As schools close, we have added more coaches on the Mombasa to Nairobi Madaraka Express passenger service trains as from September 30, 2021, to October 14, 2021," part of the notice read.

According to the school calendar, students are expected to go for week-long break before resuming for another term.

The announcement comes barely a week after Kenya Railways doubled the number of trips on the same route.

The train started making two trips to Mombasa from Nairobi at 8am and 2:15pm and leave the coastal town at the same time for the city.

Initially, the SGR service was scaled down to a single trip in July after resuming operations from the suspension order that had been implemented in accordance with the Ministry of Health directives to curb the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This is a big relief to our customers considering the number of feedbacks and requests received since the resumption of the service,” said Kenya Railways Managing Director, Philip Mainga, at the time.

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