Kenya Railways adds SGR wagons for vacation needs

BY BONFACE OTIENO
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• Kenya Railways Corporation will increase the passenger capacity of the standard gauge railroad (SGR) between Nairobi and Mombasa by 61 percent in response to increasing demand during the school holidays.
• Mr. Philip Mainga, the company’s general manager, said yesterday that touring coaches for economy class passengers will be increased from eight to 13.
• First class passengers will also receive an additional unit from the two coaches in service under the new service regime, which will come into effect between September 30 and October 14.

Kenya Railways Corporation will increase the passenger capacity of the standard gauge railroad (SGR) between Nairobi and Mombasa by 61 percent in response to increasing demand during the school holidays.

Mr. Philip Mainga, the company’s general manager, said yesterday that touring coaches for economy class passengers will be increased from eight to 13.

First class passengers will also receive an additional unit from the two coaches in service under the new service regime, which will come into effect between September 30 and October 14.

The train currently pulls eight cars (944 passengers) with economy class tickets and two cars (144 passengers) with first class tickets.

“We will take a lot of students with us during this first semester break. Many people will also travel to different destinations during this holiday season, ”said Mr. Mainga.

The SGR passenger train service between Nairobi and Mombasa went into operation in June 2017.

Trains run daily from both directions and provide a five-hour non-stop connection between the country’s two major cities.

It charges Sh3,000 on first class coaches and Sh1,000 on economy class coaches.

Children under three years of age do not pay a fee to travel by train, while children from 3 to 11 years of age pay half the fare for economy and first class tickets.

Introduced in 2018, the inter-county service train loads Sh70 from Mombasa to Mariakani, Sh310 from Voi to Kibwezi, Sh220 from Athi River to Emali in economy class coaches.

In the first class, passengers paid Sh140 from Mombasa to Mariakani, Sh920 from Voi to Kibwezi, Sh660 from Athi River to Emali, Sh2, Sh2, 130 from Nairobi to Voi and Sh1,670 from Emali to Maisenyi.