Panic as train driver jumps off moving engine
A train driver caused panic on Wednesday evening after he jumped off an engine whose pressure breaks had failed.
Police and other experts were forced to chase the unmanned engine that was heading to Githurai in a desperate effort to stop it.
The train engine eventually stopped on a slope near Njiru bridge.
According to police, the train engine’s braking system failed at the Makadara station. It then sped across the city’s network forcing the driver to jump off as it gained momentum.
The unmanned engine sped past level stations at Mutindwa and Dandora, and stopped near Mwiki at a slope.
Railway Police Unit Commandant Kirimi Ringera said the driver alighted on realising he could not stop it.
The Kenyan railway is in its 100 year history, both before and after privatization and has been plagued by safety issues. Derailments are common.
In November 2013, a passenger train rammed into a public service vehicle at Mutindwa, Umoja, in Nairobi. Twelve people died.
On the morning of 16 October 2005, a matatu was struck by a passenger train near Kisumu. Six people died and 23 more were injured.
In 2000, 13 people died near Kisumu after a passenger train rolled backwards due to failed brakes. In the same year, at least 25 were burnt to death after a freight train carrying gas exploded.