A French consortium has been awarded the tender for construction of a Sh12 billion overpass to linking the Nairobi's Central Business District to JKIA.
Acting Kenya Railway MD Philip Mainga said the trains will accommodate 600 passengers per trip.
“With one round around 300 people can be transported to the CBD and another 300 back to JKIA,” Mainga said last Thursday.
The 20km rail is aimed at easing traffic congestion within the CBD.
The rail is expected to drastically reduce the journey to JKIA airport to just 20 minutes.
Last Wednesday, President Uhuru Kenyatta said government bureaucracy should not delay implementation of the commuter train.
“A properly functioning urban commuter rail system and Bus Rapid Transit System in our cities, particularly here in Nairobi, will completely transform the lives of millions of urban dwellers as well as make Nairobi a wonderful experience for tourists and visitors,” Uhuru said.
The President asked officials and consultants involved in the feasibility of the project to seal all possible loopholes likely to derail the project.
President Uhuru was accompanied by the French President Emmanuel Macron when he toured the Nairobi Railway station on Wednesday.
Currently, the railway lines running from the CBD to Embakasi Village, Kikuyu, Kitengela, and Ruiru are undergoing a Sh10 billion renovation.
Nairobi county executive for Transport Mohammed Dagane said last year the commuter rail is among the Vision 2030 projects captured in the Nairobi Integrated Urban Development Master Plan aimed at decongesting the capital city .
He said the project will involve procurement of around 60 buses which will link commuters to the rail as well as move passengers from the Central Railway Station to the CBD.
"There are also plans to have an overpass highway along Mombasa road from the airport all the way to Westlands as well and it will be implemented by the national government," Dagane said.
