One of the trains that will be used to move travelers between Nairobi and Mombasa. Passengers will take just over 4 hours to reach their destinations. [Photo/naibuzz.com]
Ahead of the June 1 official launch of the Standard Gauge Railway, a test run has shown that it just takes 2 hours to travel from Nairobi to Mtito Andei.
The distance between the two towns is about half the 472-kilometre SGR line.
During the test run, conducted on Wednesday, the train left Nairobi at 9:30am and arrived at Mtito Andei at exactly 11:30am. No stopovers were made during the trip. The train was moving at an average speed of 120km/h, according to a report in The Star.
SGR project coordinator Johnson Matu, who was speaking in Mombasa after completion of the journey, said they were happy with the results.
“The test runs were meant to determine the train’s performance ability on the new SGR track,” Mate said, as quoted by The Standard.
Experts estimate that the journey from Nairobi to Mombasa, which normally take more than 8 hours on a bus, will take just over 4 hours, making it easier for people to commute between two biggest cities in the country.
Although construction on the SGR is almost complete, the first batch of coaches to be used initially arrived in the country in January this year — ahead of the much-anticipated June launch.
The Star reports that another batch of 150 wagons for the SGR was received on Sunday at the Port of Mombasa by Kenya Railways Corporation.
President Uhuru Kenyatta is scheduled to open the project, and will be part of the passengers traveling on the inaugural train journey from Nairobi to Mombasa after the launch.