Kajiado governor Joseph Lenku on Tuesday launched a new train passenger coach service to serve the Kajiado to Konza route.
The passenger train belongs to Tata Chemicals in Magadi.
Passengers travelling from Konza will disembark at the company's railway station in Kajiado town.
The carrier service that will run twice a week has a carrying capacity of 150 passengers.
Speaking during the launch, Lenku said the train service will ease transport, improve efficiency while opening up business opportunities for the communities along the railway line and its destinations.
He lauded the partnership between his government and Tata Chemicals Magadi for such a milestone in the transport sector.
“I would like to urge the people of Kajiado East to support Tata Chemicals Magadi if they find an opportunity to do so because they have made life much better for them,” Lenku said.
He said already far-flung areas like Emali had registered interest in having the passenger train service extended to reach them so that they can also benefit from the potential business gains it stood to offer.
At the same time, Lenku assured the residents of Kajiado that plans are underway to repair roads and bridges that have been rendered impassable due to the recent heavy rains.
He hinted that the Ewuaso-Ngong-Kiserian-Isinya-Imaroro road work is set to be launched in the coming week and urged investors in the county to take advantage of this enhanced road network to do business while empowering the people.
Speaking at the ceremony, Tata Chemicals Magadi managing director, Eng. Jackson Mbui stated that as a company, the provision of the rail passenger coach service between Kajiado and Konza will hopefully empower the local community as well as provide savings in both time and money for commuters.
“Our hope is that this coach service will also foster development in the Kajiado area, opening up trade and commerce avenues for the county as a whole,” he concluded.
The Governor and the leadership later rode the maiden train ride from Kajiado to Konza Market where they addressed residents highlighting to them the key development gains of the public-private partnership that has borne the commuter service train.