KR unveils Limuru-Nairobi train service

The Kenya Railways Corporation has launched a new train service that plies from Limuru to Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD).

In the schedule released by the corporation at the weekend, passengers will be required to pay Sh80 only  for a one way trip.

 The train will depart from Limuru at 5.30am and pass through Kikuyu, Dagoretti, Kibera before arriving at the Nairobi Central Station at 7.52am.

 The evening train will depart from the Nairobi Central station at 5:50pm to arrive at Limuru Railway Station at 7:52pm

 The train will have a two-minute stop at each station to ensure efficiency in meeting the set times.

Kenya Railways is building 26 stations to serve the new routes in the first phase.

 Some of the newly built stations are located in existing railway corridors, including Syokimau, Makadara, and Imara Daima.

The second phase will extend services to Thika and Limuru while the third will target the satellite towns of Ongata Rongai, Kiserian, Ngong, Kiambu, Ruai and Kangemi in the coming months.

Reduce congestion

The project is part of the Nairobi Metropolitan Transport Master Plan that is aimed at carrying out modernisation and expansion of underutilised railway transport to reduce congestion on city roads.

The corporation has procured eleven Diesel Multiple-Units (DMU) from Spain at a cost of Sh1.15 billion, five of which are already operational.

The government has spent Sh6.6 billion to upgrade the commuter service in the Nairobi Metropolitan Area.

It includes non-motorised transport, integrated and modern ticketing systems and investments in access roads.

Keen to decongest the city last month, the state corporation launched the commuter service from Nairobi Central to Lukenya for Sh100.