Kenya Railways Corporation has announced a night train service for passengers travelling to and from Kisumu.
In a statement released by the corporation on Tuesday, June 7, the service will begin on Friday, June 10.
Passengers booking from Nairobi will depart at 6.30pm and arrive 12 hours later at 6.30am. On the other hand, passengers in Kisumu can board the train at 6.30pm and arrive in Nairobi twelve hours later.
Christened the Kisumu Safari Train, the service will be offered every Friday and Sunday.
Kenya Railways commenced an 11-hour train ride from Nairobi to Kisumu on December 17, 2021. The schedule saw the train make stops in Nakuru.
The departure time was initially set at 6am and the arrival time at Nakuru city at 11.30am. Afterward, the train would proceed to Kisumu and arrive at 6.20pm.
At the time, passengers were being charged Ksh600 for economic class and Ksh2,000 for first-class.
The commencement of the Kisumu train service had delayed due to rehabilitation works of the Nakuru - Kisumu metre-gauge railway line.
In a past interview, Kenya Railways Managing Director, Philip Mainga, affirmed that KRC had spent millions to ensure the rehabilitation of the railway line. He added that the process was made easier with the incorporation of the Kenya Defence Forces and National Youth Service (NYS).
"We have spent Ksh500 million to repair the Khwisero - Kitale line, another Ksh500 million on the Kisumu - Butere line and Ksh1.1 billion to rehabilitate the Gilgil - Nyahururu line on top of another Ksh4.5 billion to repair the Nairobi commuter train system which is currently ferrying 100,000 passengers per day to and from the city," he pointed out.
