Air travellers will soon be able to enjoy train services as the Kenya Railway Authorities seek to extend the recently launched Nairobi Commuter Rail System.
This comes as the authorities announced to soon launch the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Express Service.
Last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced that the Commuter Rail Services will be extended at JKIA in 2021.
In a press statement released on Thursday, Kenya Railways highlighted that the service is being undertaken in conjunction with the Kenya Airports Authority.
“The Kenya Airport Authority is offering technical guidance on security matters and other issues to ensure all commuters from the Railway Station access the Airport efficiently,” read the release.
The JKIA Express route is targeting over 24,000 passengers, workers and other users of the Airport once it will be launched.
In addition to that, KAA has already trained the Nairobi Commuter Rail drivers on the routing and drop off points within JKIA.
Once the plan is implemented, Air travelers from the Central Business District will be able to catch a train from the Nairobi Railway Station up to Embakasi Village Railway Station after which they will then be ferried through the Airport South Road to JKIA.
The Airport South Road has been dedicated for use by the Nairobi Commuter Rail Bus which are also the Bus Rapid Transit Vehicles.
This way, air travelers will be able to avoid the traffic snarl-up that is always along Mombasa Road.
The commuter rail system is already functioning, with passengers paying Sh. 100 a ride to each destination.
The train services cover the Nairobi-Imara Daima-Syokimau route, the Nairobi-Githurai-Mwiki-Kahawa–Ruiru route, the Nairobi-Embakasi route and the Nairobi-Kibera–Kikuyu route.
Early this week, the authorities released the official Nairobi Commuter Train complete schedule, having trains operating on a fixed daily schedule across Nairobi.
The city’s commuter rail service was introduced in May 1992 in response to a series of strikes by PSVs. With time, the demand plummeted due to poor management.
Kenya Railway is targeting a daily commute to the CBD of 1.5 million people.
