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Inter-county SGR to start with Sh50 minimum fare


Kenya Railways will launch the inter-county train service next Saturday, allowing passengers to alight and board on the stations between Nairobi and Mombasa.

The two inter-county service trains will supplement the existing Madaraka Express train and will be travelling on both directions.

The inter-county trains are scheduled to make stopovers at nine terminus Mariakani, Miasenyi, Voi, Mtito Andei, Kibwezi, Emali and Athi River where it will charge a minimum of Sh50 between stations.

Passengers travelling on the economy class coaches will pay Sh50 from Mombasa to Mariakani, Sh230 from Voi to Kibwezi, Sh160 from Athi River to Emali, Sh510 from Nairobi to Voi and Sh400 from Emali to Miasenyi.

PRESSURE ON PSVs

This will further pile pressure on public service vehicle operators given that bus firms on the Nairobi-Mombasa route have reported reduce passengers.

On first class, passengers will pay Sh140 from Mombasa to Mariakani, Sh920 from Voi to Kibwezi, Sh660 from Athi River to Emali, Sh2,130 from Nairobi to Voi and Sh1,670 from Emali to Miasenyi.

Since the launch, two Madaraka Express trains have been departing at 9am daily from both directions, offering a four-and-a-half hour non-stop connection between Nairobi and Mombasa.

“We will have a train leaving Nairobi at 8am in the morning and another leaving Mombasa at the same time. The Mombasa train will stop along the stations taking five and a half hours,” said Kenya Railways managing director Atanas Maina.

“The Mombasa train that will have arrived in Nairobi will go back to Mombasa express at 3:30pm, while the Nairobi train that will have arrived in Mombasa at 1:30pm will return to Nairobi express at 3:30pm,” said Mr Maina.

LOW PRICES

The trains have become popular with passengers due to low promotional prices and smooth rides, a situation that has left hundreds stranded at the stations.

The express train slashed the time for the 472 km journey to about four hours from 12 on the line built more than a century ago that stretched from Mombasa to the Ugandan capital Kampala. The older line is operated by Rift Valley Railways.

The express line gives businesses and passengers a cheaper and safer alternative to single-lane highway between Nairobi and Mombasa that is often congested.