Several passengers who use the Ruiru to Nairobi Central Railway Station commuter train were forced to seek alternative options on the morning of Wednesday, June 3.
This was after a train derailed at the Dandora Station on the night of Tuesday, June 2. Kenya Railways apologized to commuters for any inconvenience caused.
Commuters in the area who use the train service when heading to the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD) resorted to using matatus.
The Ruiru-Nairobi line has intermediate stops at Kahawa, Githurai, Mwiki, Maili Saba, Dandora, Mtwinda and Makadara.
It is usually scheduled to run twice a day with an average boarding per train of 900 passengers, registering a daily ridership of around 1,800.
A spot-check by Kenyans.co.ke revealed that while matatus experienced a surge in passengers, fares were not hiked.
"The fare is the same but you can say there are a lot more people because the train is not operating," a Ruiru resident who spoke to Kenyans.co.ke disclosed.
The Ruiru-Nairobi line is one of four that make up the Nairobi commuter rail service; the others being Embakasi-Nairobi, Kikuyu-Nairobi and Syokimau Nairobi.
Kenya Railways has made no secret of its lofty ambitions to ramp up the service as it targets more passengers in a bid to de-congest Nairobi.
In March, Kenya Railways Managing Director Philip Mainga signed a deal to acquire 15 used trains from Mallorca, Spain to be used in Nairobi.
He maintained that it was part of a plan to increase passsenger capacity on the commuter rail service from 13,000 to 130,000 by 2022.
Questions were raised, however, on whether taxpayers were getting value for money as some of the trains were reportedly over 25 years old.
The metre-gauge Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) had been rendered redundant in Mallorca, Spain after the completion of an electrification program on existing lines.
The government maintained that it was the cheaper and faster option, arguing that developed countries such as France had acquired similar trains.
