The Syokimau SGR passenger train terminal where the bus station will be built. [Photo/ businessdailyafrica.com]
Kenya Railways will create a bus station at Syokimau for SGR travelers headed to Western Kenya.
The SGR passenger unit ends at Syokimau station from Mombasa, forcing passengers going to Western Kenya to seek for bus services at Nairobi’s city centre – a distance of about 30 kilometres.Kenya Railways is now seeking for collaboration with mainstream buses companies including Easy Coach, Mombasa Raha, Coast Bus, Tahmeed and Grand Bus for seamless travel between Mombasa and Western Kenya.“Passengers will no longer need to come to town. They can pick their buses at our stations and go to their final destinations,” said Kenya Railways Managing Director Atanas Maina on Saturday.“We are looking at the possibility of obtaining data of all the customers who are travelling with us such that if a passenger is travelling from Mombasa and your final destination is Kisumu, we are able to pick that data and relay it to bus operators ahead of time for easy planning.”Bus companies plying the Nairobi-Mombasa route have lost business following the launch of the SGR passenger train by President Uhuru Kenyatta on May 31.The express train cut travel time between Mombasa and Nairobi by eight hours to four from 12 with the cost of travelling from the port city to Nairobi and vise-versa pegged at Sh700 for economy class. And Sh3,000 for business class.Buses charge between Sh800 and Sh2,000 along the Nairobi-Mombasa route.Kenya Railways has already announced plans to launch an inter-county train service in nine terminuses on July 1 giving passengers the opportunity to alight and board at the stations between Nairobi and Mombasa.