State Railways Corporation Kenya Railways (KRC) has resumed commercial passenger traffic on the Nairobi-Nanyuki meter gauge line with a length of 177.2 km from December 11, 2020.
Initially, it is planned to operate one round-trip flight per week with a further increase in traffic frequency as demand for transportation increases. From Nairobi to Nanyuki, the train departs on Fridays, and in the opposite direction – on Sundays. Up to 1600 passengers can be transported in one flight.
The trip from one end to the other takes about 6 hours. Moreover, in both directions the train leaves at 08:00 and arrives at 14:00. The minimum cost of a ticket for travel between end stations is 200 Kenyan shillings (US $ 1.79), between stops – from 50 to 100 shillings.
The trip from one end to the other takes about 6 hours. Moreover, in both directions the train leaves at 08:00 and arrives at 14:00. The minimum cost of a ticket for travel between end stations is 200 Kenyan shillings (US $ 1.79), between stops – from 50 to 100 shillings.
The start of the movement was preceded by tests that began on July 7, 2020 between Tika stations, which is 42 km northeast of Nairobi, and Nanyuki. Freight traffic was resumed even earlier than passenger traffic – in August 2020. The line mainly transports oil cargo, fertilizers and agricultural products. Then the cargo is reloaded onto a normal gauge line and sent to the port of Mombasa.
The works on the reconstruction of the highway were carried out for 6 months with a breakdown into three stages: Tica – Maragua (47.6 km), Maragua – Caratina (54.2 km) and Caratina – Nanyuki (75.4 km). Their cost was 3 billion shillings. KRC funded 1.2 billion shillings, with the remaining 1.8 billion being taken over by the state-owned Kenya Pipeline.
The work included clearing the right-of-way along the entire corridor, while the military took over the removal of unauthorized development. The infrastructure and rolling stock were modernized, locomotive leases were formalized, and an access road to the fuel warehouse of Vivo Energy in Nanyuki and a new station in Chaka was built.
The commissioning of this line will lead to improved transport accessibility and economic growth in the surrounding areas, including boosting tourism development (photo: Kenya Railways).
This awesome. KRC kindly set up a substation in juja, kalimoni.