Uhuru reduces SGR fare to Sh700 for economy class
President Uhuru Kenyatta has ordered for the reduction of fares for passengers using the new railway.
The president on Wednesday fixed the fare for economy class at Sh700 for passengers travelling from Nairobi to Mombasa.
“We have done the math, from Mombasa to Nairobi the fare should not exceed Sh700,” President Kenyatta announced.
This is a reduction from the initial Sh900 announced a day earlier by his Transport Secretary James Macharia.
The fares for first class will however remain at Sh3, 000.
The president also ordered for the reduction of the fee charged on cargo moving from Mombasa to Nairobi.
Containers that were averagely being charged Sh100, 000 as freight by road transporters from Mombasa to Nairobi will now be charged Sh50,000 by the railway operator.
Mr Kenyatta made the announcements at the launch of the Standard Gauge Railway passenger train in Miritini, Mombasa.
The initial Sh900 fare for economy class was as a result of a study by Aarvee of India in collaboration with Wanjohi & Mutonyi Consulting Engineers (technical), Equity Investment Bank (financial) and Amolo & Gacoka Advocates (legal), groups that the government hired in March to help determine the fares for the new railway.
