Commuters have raised concerns over the newly launched Nairobi-Suswa Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) which has experienced a low turnout in terms of people seeking its services.
According to Citizen Digital, some of the trains were making empty trips and in some cases with an extremely low number of passengers.
One major challenge that the commuters have singled out is the accessibility of the train station. The roads leading to the train station from major towns have also been reported to be poor.
"The roads and the conditions that they are in have put us completely off from using the train,” said Michael Mbugua who is a resident of Rongai.
The commuters further claimed that the total cost of using the trains was expensive as one would have to incur extra transport costs to access the train stations which are not near major urban centres. The passengers also have to pay to access their final destination after alighting from the trains.
“Our biggest issue is the cost. This was supposed to make it easier for us to commute but now I have to pay more than Sh500…,” Chora Wambua stated.
Kajiado Governor Joseph ole Lenku had requested for renovation of the roads connecting to the train station as a way of curbing the challenges that the commuters were facing.
“Your excellency, we are requesting that these surrounding roads be upgraded to allow the locals to access the stations with ease. The link to Ngong road from Ngong station and the link road to the Ongata Rongai Stations need quick intervention,” Mr Lenku said as quoted by the Nation.