Kenya: Ignore Facebook Groups Using the Name of Kenya's Standard Gauge Railway to Offer Train Tickets

25 November 2025
Africa Check (Johannesburg)
By Grace Gichuhi

Ignore Facebook groups using the name of Kenya's standard gauge railway to offer train tickets

IN SHORT: A number of Facebook groups claim to sell tickets for Kenya's standard gauge railway service between Nairobi and Mombasa. But none of them are official and Kenya Railways has warned passengers to use only its authorised channels.

Three Facebook groups, all with "SGR ONLINE BOOKING SERVICE" in their name, present themselves as official accounts for Kenya's standard gauge railway (SGR), which connects the capital Nairobi with the coastal city of Mombasa, some 488 kilometres away.

The groups use photos of SGR trains and branding to create the impression that they are run by Kenya Railways. They regularly post messages inviting users to book train tickets by calling or messaging cellphone numbers.

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One post, dated 18 November 2025, instructs users to call a specific number, give their travel details and wait for an SMS with payment instructions before paying the full fare via M-Pesa.

M-Pesa is a mobile money platform by Safaricom, Kenya's largest telecoms company.

Another post, dated 10 November, lists supposed departure and arrival times and claims that tickets can be "delivered" to passengers in Nairobi or sent as scanned copies via email or phone.

Similar posts by the suspicious groups have circulated here and here. (Note: See more instances at the end of this report.)

But can passengers really book an SGR ticket through the details given in these posts? We checked.

Fraudulent ticket offers

Africa Check reviewed the first Facebook group and found a consistent pattern of changing identities. The group was created on 31 March 2024 as "SGR ONLINE BOOKING AND SERVICES 0789606670", before switching names repeatedly, becoming "SGR HELPLINE SERVICES;0707478411" in June of that year, then adopting new similar names and listing new phone numbers in July, August and September.

It rebranded yet again on 14 March 2025, before finally settling on its current name on 26 June. This all reinforced our suspicions that the group had no legitimate link to Kenya Railways or the official SGR service.

We reviewed the history of the second suspicious Facebook group and found a similar pattern of identity changes that strongly suggests it is not an official SGR platform. The group was created on 30 July 2023, then repeatedly renamed, posing as "Tahmeed Coach", "Ena Coach" and various SGR "booking service" pages, each time changing its phone number. Between 2023 and 2025, it underwent more than 10 name changes. This frequent switching between different companies and SGR-related names is a clear sign the group is not connected to Kenya Railways.

We also looked at the history of a third Facebook group and found that it was created on 6 Jun 2023 and has had no recent changes to its group name. The SGR in Kenya was officially launched for passenger services on 31 May 2017. It seems highly unlikely that the legitimate service only created a Facebook group in 2023, six years later.

Kenya Railways confirmed to us via email that none of the Facebook groups are affiliated with the government corporation.

"Kenya Railways has explicitly warned that there are fraudulent Facebook groups and pages purporting to sell SGR (Madaraka Express) tickets. These scammers often provide phone numbers and ask for payments, but they are not authorised by Kenya Railways. There are also fake mobile apps impersonating the SGR ticketing system," wrote Kenya Railways.

They added: "Kenya Railways' own ticketing terms clearly state that ticket sales should only happen through their official channels. Online: Through their official ticketing portal at metickets.krc.co.ke. USSD (Mobile): Dial *639# on a Safaricom line and follow the prompts to book and pay (via M-Pesa). In Person: Buy your ticket at any Madaraka Express Passenger Service station (ticket counters)."

The three Facebook groups claiming to offer SGR booking services are not run by Kenya Railways. The posts encouraging users to call personal phone numbers, send money, or request ticket delivery are fraudulent.

These fake ticket offers have also been posted here, here, here, here and here.

Read the original story, with links and other resources.
Africa Check is a non-partisan organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate and in the media. Twitter @AfricaCheck and www.africacheck.org

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