Passenger service vehicle operators at the railways bus terminal will be evicted before the year-ends to pave way for the multi-billion railway city project.
Kenya railways managing director Philip Mainga said they have already entered into an agreement with the National Transport and Safety Authority to move the operators to the Green Park terminal once the project starts.
The Nairobi Railway City project is a flagship project in the UK-Kenya Strategic Partnership and sits on 425 acres of land in the Nairobi city centre. It will be funded by the United Kingdom through a public-private partnership (PPP) to the tune of Sh30 billion.
Mainga said that initial works aimed at facilitating the project are done, and once the relocation is completed, passengers will use an underground tunnel currently under constructional along Haile Selassie Avenue, to access the Central Business District.
“They are waiting for us to start and they will move to green park terminal. We have completed our commitment. We said we cannot move them out until we are ready to start the project,” said Mainga.
The railway city project is expected to be completed in three years and is supposed to ease mobility and interconnectivity within Nairobi and its environs.
It is set to provide seamless integration to the city’s transport nodes through an expanded Central Station, new bus rapid transit (BRT) lines and stations as well as a revamped matatu termini that will allow the city’s residents clear transit pathways in and out of the CBD.
Inspired by famed railway cities around the world such as London’s Kings Cross Station, the Nairobi Railway City will create a fusion of travel, business, and leisure.
The project was first mooted at the UK-Africa Investment Summit, held in London in early 2020 and its ground breaking ceremony presided over by President William Ruto on December 7, 2022.
“I can assure you, Nairobi Railway City is fully alive. We have completed all the studies, all the consultancies. We are ready now for procurement. But we are going to do this in the next financial year, 2025-2026,” said Mainga.
He said several other upcoming projects have been approved and nearing completion, among them advancements is the near-completion of a key bridge and workshops in Makadara, a key step towards the transformation of the city’s railway infrastructure.
“If you visit the site, you will see the bridge—it is almost complete. The workshops in Makadara, part of this project, are also finished. We are now preparing for the major works, including public lanes, platforms, and expansion, which are expected to commence between 2025 and 2026,” added Mainga.
Despite the push for extension of the SGR, Mainga said the metre gauge railway remains an integral part of Kenya’s transport network, serving both passenger and cargo needs.
Currently the Nairobi commuter rail system continues to transport between 20,000 and 30,000 passengers daily.
