City Railway Commuters trek following train breakdown
Nairobi Railway commuters were forced to walk for a long distance following a breakdown of the Syokimau Nairobi train.
The train, which broke down immediately after picking the last passengers at the Makadara Railway station moved at a snail’s space till Muthurwa area when it couldn’t move any further.
Hundreds of passengers had to alight and walk all the way to their workplaces to save time.
Railway technical officers interviewed said the train experienced overheating after the locomotive’s engine run out of water.
Furious passengers blamed Kenya Railway for poor services and lack of communication.
The Syokimau-Nairobi train which was scheduled to arrive at the Nairobi Railway Station at 7:35am completely stalled at about 8:20am.
ENGINE FAILURE
“This is not the fist time this is happening. The commuter engine fails so many times that we have gotten used to it,” said Simon Mwangi.
Another passenger Purity Kasuve said it is possible that the engine capacity may not be adequate to support the increasing number of passengers following increased traffic jam along Mombasa road.
“It is sad that the only alternative means to massive traffic jams in Nairobi is no longer reliable,” Kasuve said.
Other disappointed passengers claimed that cargo trains may be enjoying higher and more reliable engines at the expense of commuter trains.
Efforts by Nairobi News to reach senior Railway officials for comment were futile as all phone calls went unanswered.
Mombasa road has seen drastic increase of traffic jam following temporary closure of roundabouts one of the busiest highway in Nairobi.
This has forced the Nairobi City County to rescind orders to close Bunyala and Lusaka roundabouts after a one-week nightmare for motorists.