Kenya Railways Corporation has blamed an early morning train accident along its Nakuru-Kisumu railway line on poor drainage and ongoing road constructions.
The corporation first noted that no injuries were recorded during the Saturday, September 24 accident that occurred at around 7 am.
In a statement dated Saturday, September 24, it added that the heavy rainfall witnessed in Lakeside city the day before led to the accumulation of waste at the railway intersection.
Further, contractors undertaking a road project next to the line reportedly dumped the waste Kenya Railways cited.
"Our locomotive derailed due to heavy siltation at the point the Kakamega-Kisumu road intersects the railway line.
"This siltation was as a result of the accumulation of waste due to poor drainage and dumping from a nearby road construction site which was washed off by heavy rains that occurred last night, and then settled into the road-railway line intersection," read the statement in part.
However, the incident caused a traffic snarl along the Kisumu-Kakamega highway as it blocked a section of the busy road.
The corporation assured its customers that it was working around the clock to restore its services back to normalcy.
Consequently, motorists plying the said highway were advised to use alternative routes moving in and out of the city.
"We are working closely with Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) to clear the road and bring the situation back to normalcy," read the statement in part.
The accident barely comes a month after former President Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned the renovated line connecting the lakeside city and the capital city.
Initially, the railway was to be part of the Standard Guage Railway, however, due to budgetary complications, Uhuru's administration opted to renovate the existing Meter Gauge Railway (MGR) that had been dormant for years.
