The SGR locomotive navigating a bend after launch. [Photo/ niaje.com]
Kenya Railways will launch the inter-county Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line train service on July 1, giving passengers the opportunity to alight on stations along the Nairobi and Mombasa route.
The two inter-county service trains will supplement the current Madaraka Express locomotive and will be travelling on both directions.The train service will make stop-overs at Athi River, Emali, Kibwezi, Mtito Andei, Voi, Miasenyi and Mariakani.Travelers on the train’s economy class coaches will pay Sh50 from Mombasa to Mariakni, Sh230 from Voi to Kibwezi, Sh400 from Emali to Miasenyi, Sh160 from Athi River to Emali and Sh510 from Nairobi to Voi.On first class, passengers will pay Sh140 from Mombasa to Mariakani, Sh920 from Voi to Kibwezi, Sh660 from Athi River to Emali, Sh530 from Nairobi to Voi and Sh570 from Emali to Miasenyi.From the time the SGR passenger train service was launched, two Madaraka Express trains have been departing from Nairobi to Mombasa and from Mombasa to Nairobi, offering a four and a half non-stop connection between Nairobi and Mombasa with 34,808 passengers using the train in the first half of June.“We will have a train leaving Nairobi at 8:00 am in the morning and another train leaving Mombasa at the same time. The Mombasa train will stop along the stations taking five and a half hours,” Kenya Railways managing director Atanas Maina said on Wednesday.“The Nairobi train heading to Mombasa will stop along all the stations and it will take five and a half hours along the way. When those trains are coming back, the Mombasa train that will have arrived in Nairobi will go back to Mombasa express at 3:30pm, while the Nairobi train that will have arrived in Mombasa at 1:30pm will return to Nairobi express at 3:30pm.”The SGR passenger train was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta on May 31.