The Kenya Railways has assured Nairobi residents that commuting within the city is set to offer a new experience.
A lot of reforms have been going on at the institution.
On Wednesday, Kenya Transport and Logistics Network boss John Ngumi and Kenya Railways chairman Pastor Awitta made an inspection tour to monitor the progress of the locomotive refurbishment at the Nairobi Central Workshops, Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation.
“I am impressed with the progress of the refurbishment of these locomotives which would have otherwise been decommissioned," Ngumi told the press after the tour.
He said the refurbishment is part of a wider plan to provide efficient transport of goods and services.
Last year, a presidential directive collapsed rail, pipeline and port operations under Kenya Transport and Logistics Network, which is being overseen by the Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation.
The presidency said the collapse of rail, pipeline and port operations under the Kenya Transport and Logistics Network would leverage the efficiencies and synergies of the four state agencies to achieve Kenya’s strategic agenda of becoming a regional logistics hub.
Ngumi said the commuter rail transport has been upgraded.
Rehabilitation works have been going on in Embakasi, Donholm, Pipeline, Dandora, Mwiki, Githurai 45, Kahawa, Ruiru, Athi River and Kikuyu.
The upgrade will see 10 new stations operate on the 'park and ride' model, which is currently being used at the Syokimau, Imara Daima and Makadara stations.
Park and ride means that those with personal cars will be given a place to park, board the commuter rail to the city, leaving behind their cars, akin to developed countries such as Germany.
Their cars will be secured until the respective owners come back using the commuter train in the evening. Authorities believe the move will help decongest the city.
Apart from rehabilitation, Kenya Railways has also introduced the Nairobi Commuter Railbus service, plying three routes to Westlands, Yaya and Upper Hill.
Once commuters alight from the train at Nairobi Central Railway Station, they have a choice to board the buses, depending on destination.
For the Westlands route, commuters pay a fixed charge of Sh30 and the bus will pass through Jevanjee-Museum Hill-CFC Stanbic-Chiromo-Westlands Bus Terminus-Brookside-Safaricom-ABSA-ABC Place-James Gichuru.
Those going to the Upper hill route, commuters pay Sh50 and the bus will pass through Meladin, KMA, CIC Plaza, Britam, TSC, Kadhii Court, CBC, Kasneb headquarters and Kenyatta National Hospital.
For Yaya schedule, key destinations are Serena, Integrity Centre, Chancery, Maktaba Kuu, Nairobi Hospital, Department of Defence, Hurlingham, Chaka Place and Yaya Centre.
The government has also embarked on demolishing all the illegal structures standing on Kenya Railways land, with the Mutindwa Market being cleared.
Kenya Railways says once completed, the commuter rail will attract a substantial proportion of the 1.5 million people who commute to the central business district daily.
At the moment, 20,000 commuters use the rail network on weekdays through lines originating from Nairobi Central Station to Ruiru via Dandora, Githurai and Kahawa; to Syokimau via Makadara and Imara Daima, Embakasi village via Pipeline and Donholm and Kikuyu via Kibera and Dagoretti.
In addition, 40 refurbished coaches with automated ticketing systems have been introduced on various routes.
Nine new stations will be built in Umoja, Kibera, Thika, Mbagathi Way, Kenyatta and Strathmore universities, Kitengela and Thogoto.
The move, Kenya Railways says, is seeking to increase the number of monthly commuters from the current 300,000 passengers to more than two million in the next two years.
The city’s commuter rail service was introduced in May 1992 in response to a series of PSV strikes.
However, due to poor standards, the Kenya Railway management said the rail service has been having a low level of demand.
The corporation in February last year procured new DMUs which are plying five routes from Nairobi Central Station to Embakasi Village, Syokimau, Kitengela, Kikuyu and Thika.
The 11 new DMUs were procured at a cost of Sh1.15 billion.
Ruiru-CBD route is served by 20 coaches at the rate of Sh50 per passenger.
Train fares are constant irrespective of the weather conditions, as compared to public service vehicles which hike fares.
Awitta said Kenya Railways has the capacity to refurbish its own coaches, wagons and locomotives.
"As we rehabilitate lines, we are also working on locomotives and wagons," he said.
He said the government has been using the youth from NYS to clear some of the routes and KDF to rehabilitate some of the lines.
Awitta said the corporation started with rehabilitating coaches, most of which are working now.
In 2019, the government released the Nairobi Railway City master plan aimed at expanding the CBD.
The implementation of the project is estimated to take 20 years at a cost of Sh27.91 billion with the first phase (development) taking place between 2020 and 2030.
Railway infrastructure and water supply will take the bulk of the costs at Sh17.5 billion and Sh3.9 billion respectively.
The multi-modal urban development project will be situated within 425-acres, of which 292 acres is owned by the Kenya Railways and currently serving as the Nairobi Railway station.
The project which is part of the Nairobi Integrated Urban Development Plan is also aimed at expanding the capital's CBD as currently set up.
The project covers the area between Haile Sellasie Avenue, Uhuru Highway and Bunyala road.
Kenya Railways said the proposed primary planning area is situated within the site containing the Nairobi Central Railway Station, the marshalling yard and the Kenya Railways Pension Scheme Land (Landimawe Estate).
It also stretches to the locomotive and wagons workshops and the section of Nairobi’s Industrial Area that borders the southern boundary of the Nairobi Railway Station.
The development will see Wakulima Market turned into a park while Africa's largest coffee mill at KPCU would be rehabilitated into a 'Kenyan Coffee Centre' similar to Terrarosa Yangpyeong in South Korea.
Edited by SKanyara