The second SGR passenger train has started running. The new service that commenced on Wednesday, Nov 1, will be an express train set to depart the Nairobi and Mombasa Termini at 3:30 pm.
The existing morning train has now been transformed into an inter-county train service, departing at 8am from both Nairobi and Mombasa termini, and stopping at all the seven intermediate stations.
Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said that introducing this second train, it will be more difficult for middlemen to take advantage of Kenyans by doubling the availability of train tickets as well as the daily train capacity.
“Over time, KR and China Roads and Bridges Corporation have introduced a number of initiatives that we hope, have made Madaraka Experience better. They have introduced various ticket booking platforms, meaning you no longer have to physically visit the termini to purchase your tickets; they expanded the window for booking, and I’m glad to say this will improve even further in the next few days,” he said.
The freight service is expected to commence in 2018 as the corporation begins testing the commercial cargo this November.
The freight service is expected to lower the cost of cargo transport by 35 percent between the port of Mombasa and the Nairobi Inland Container Deport.
