The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is the newest mode of transport in Kenya today. The SGR was launched by the president yesterday and he is expected to travel to Nairobi by train. SGR will soon out do the road transport because;
Road has claimed several lives due to accidents and leaving several paralyzed and orphaned with the most recent accident on Nairobi Mombasa highway which claimed 26 lives after a bus collided with a truck.
Its takes years before a train is involved in an accident hence confidence in it as a safe method of transport especially the SGR which is technologically stabilized on the rails. Comparing the two modes of transport, rail transport is safer.
With the road rules regulating the PSV to do 80kph, the train (SGR) will do 120kph. This means less time on board compared with the bus. This is because the railway has no speed bumbs, potholes nor oncoming traffic to regulate its speed compare to the road transport where many other factors limit swift movement.
In other cases, these factors lead to accidents. With SGR, transport is undisturbed thus stable traveling speed.
Comfort and price go hand in hand and to board a first class bus you need to dig dipper into your comfort. Driving a car to Mombasa from Nairobi too is tiresome and expensive.
But the SGR is comfortable and cheaper thus will be preferred. Imagine being seated in a bus for more than 8 hours compared to 4 hours by SGR, it is automatic that the rail transport is advantageous.
Although we need both rail and road transport, SGR has brought change to railways and so far it the best means.