Commuting within Kenya’s capital will soon be easy as the upgrade of commuter rail transport is 65 per cent complete.
The upgrade will see 10 new stations operate on “park and ride” model, which is currently being used at the Syokimau, Imara Daima and Makadara stations. At the weekend, the Kenya Railway Corporation released pictures of the ongoing works at the Embakasi station. Apart from Emabaksi, the other stations undergoing rehabilitation and near completions are Donholm, Pipeline, Dandora, Mwiki, Githurai 45, Kahawa, Ruiru, Athi River and Kikuyu.
Last week, illegal structures at the Mutindwa Market were demolished as the government moved in to clear out encroachers on railway land. According to Kenya Railway, 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.
Last month, Kenya Railways announced it intends to grow the number of monthly commuters from the current 300,000 passengers to more than two million in the next two years.
The Ruiru-CBD route is served by 20 coaches at the rate of Sh50 per passenger. Train fares are constant irrespective of the weather conditions. The coaches have been rehabilitated in phases as the KR awaits new Diesel Multiple Unit (DMUs) from Spain.
In February, it was announced Kenya will purchase 11 DMUs this year at a cost of Sh1.15 billion.
The new DMUs will be plying five routes from Nairobi Central Station to Embakasi Village, Syokimau, Kitengela, Kikuyu and Thika. Nine new stations will be built in Umoja, Kibera, Thika, Mbagathi Way, Kenyatta and Strathmore universities, Kitengela and Thogoto.
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 proposed Nairobi railway expansion which is estimated to cost Sh27 billion has already seen over 170 acres of land repossessed and gazetted by the government.
Part of the land covers Haile Selassie Avenue, Uhuru Highway, Bunyala Road, Commercial Street and Landhies Road and is expected to pave the way for the city rail project.