Nairobi — Kenya Railways has introduced daily trips to and from Nanyuki and Kisumu due to passenger spike during the festive season.
In a statement, the corporation stated that the daily trips to the two destinations as opposed to the usual one trip a week was introduced as more people seek to
travel for the festive season.
"The changes also entail an additional train moving from both Kisumu and
Nanyuki towards Nairobi," it stated.
"The Corporation has maintained the departure times as per the normal schedules with the train to and from Kisumu departing both ends at 1830hrs and the train to and from Nanyuki departing at 0900hrs."
The Madaraka Express passenger service train also added extra coaches
to meet the demand of passengers travelling from Nairobi and Mombasa
during the festivities.
The train service can now cater to a daily passenger capacity ranging from 10,000 to 13,000 individuals.
According to the communique, the Corporation is well positioned to accommodate the increased numbers given the huge capacity of the trains.
The Managing Director reiterated the Corporation's readiness and emphasized the commitment to enhancing efficiency for travellers during this year's festive season.
"As a Corporation we are committed to enhancing travel convenience and
efficiency for passengers during this festive season. The extension of
services is a strategic move to meet the expected upsurge in demand and
help reduce the challenges of congestion and crowding experienced in the
previous years during the festivities," he said.
The Nanyuki and Kisumu safari trains have been traversing on a daily basis
since December 9 will continue up to 14th January 2024.
Currently, Nanyuki Safari train fare costs Sh200 for economy class and
Sh1000 for first class, while Kisumu train costs Sh600 for economy
class and Sh2000 for first class.
However, as from January 1 2024, train fare will cost Sh400 for economy class and Sh1500 first class for the Nanyuki Safari train while for the Kisumu Safari train, fare will cost Sh900 for economy class and Sh2400 for first class.
The Madaraka Express train operates three-times a day each departing at
0800hrs, 1500hrs and 2200hrs.