• In 2020, revamping of the Nairobi Commuter railways began in what was aimed at easing traffic congestion along city roads.
• The rehabilitation started with upgrades to the Nairobi Railway station and those within neighbouring counties of Kiambu and Machakos, among others.
Image: ANDREW KASUKU
One of the projects President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government has focused on during his last term in office is revamping commuter rail transport.
During his first term in office, (2013-2017), much focus was placed on the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), which revolutionised the transport sector.
The transport system was a relief to travellers who oftentimes got stuck in traffic on the Mombasa -Nairobi highway.
The train takes about six to seven hours and millions of Kenyans and foreigners travelling between Mombasa and Nairobi have since embraced the mode of transportation.
Kenya Ports Authority head of inland container depots Symon Wahome had said the train would also revolutionise the transportation of cargo in Kenya.
“The old train used to carry up to 30 containers, but now the new train can carry 216,” he said during the launch in December 2017.
And in 2020, revamping of the Nairobi Commuter railways began in what was aimed at easing traffic congestion along city roads. This was to be complemented by the importation of 11 refurbished Diesel Multiple Units bought from Spanish firm Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca to enhance services by the railway service across the city and its environments.
The rehabilitation started with upgrades to the Nairobi Railway station and those within neighbouring counties of Kiambu and Machakos, among others.
The corporation has so far rehabilitated five stations in Nairobi, four in Kiambu and one in Machakos.
The stations are Mwiki, Dandora, Donholm, Pipeline, Embakasi Village, Ruiru, Kahawa, Githurai, Kikuyu and Athi River.
Image: WILFRED NYANGARESI
Highly seen as one of Uhuru's successful projects, the Kenya Railway revival brought to life a project that had remained dormant for more than two decades.
The revival included restoring and refurbishing the old railway line between Naivasha and Malaba, as well as linking it with the SGR.
This would ensure a seamless rail system for both passengers and cargo between Mombasa and Malaba. The initiative would also stimulate the economy as well as ease cargo movement to neighbouring landlocked countries using the Port of Mombasa. The refurbished line would also increase agricultural exports such as tea and coffee.
The line linked to the Kisumu port is expected to support the revival of Lake Victoria water transport, connecting Kenya to ports in Uganda and Tanzania in a major boost for regional trade. It will also serve factories in Rift Valley and western Kenya and the fish industry in Kisumu, with ripple effects across the economy.
Butere, Eldoret, Kitale and the Voi-Taveta line would also be revamped to increase cargo movement between Kenya and Tanzania through the Taveta-Holili border.
With the help of the Kenya Defense Forces and the National Youth Service, KRC has been able to revive the many stations along Railway lines that were once deemed dead, this has also brought to life towns that had started growing in such areas but stopped once the rail services stopped.
More people are embracing the meter-gauge railway when travelling during the holiday season to various destinations.
So far, the Nairobi Commuter Railway upgrades have been launched and Kenyans have been enjoying seamless service across the city. It has also been linked to the SGR.
The meter-gauge railway line along various routes has also been made operational with the Nairobi to Nanyuki route and the Naivasha-Kisumu route being fully operational as well.
The line (Nairobi to Nanyuki) cuts through Nairobi-Thika-Maragua- Sagana-Karatina-Nanyuki. The region is rich in tea, coffee and dairy farming.
Kenya Railways is expected to generate more than Sh370.4 million per year from the revived 240km line.
According to Kenya Railways Managing Director Philip Mainga, refurbishing the meter-gauge railway between Nairobi and Nanyuki had initially been said to cost Sh18 billion by a contractor, but when the work was done by the government Multi-agency team, it cost Sh1.8 billion.
The same applied to the Kisumu line in which a contractor quoted Sh20 billion but using its internal labour and a multi-agency team, it only cost Sh3 billion.
Image: ANDREW KASUKU
KRC recalled over 2,000 employees who had been laid off once the service collapsed and some of the engineers played a huge role in revamping the railway line at a lower cost.
The Nanyuki line was built by the colonial government in the 1920s. Magadi line was built in 1915.
In 1913, a line opened from Nairobi to Thika. It was later extended to Murang’a, Nyeri and later to Nanyuki in 1930.
Other lines were built to Solai (1926), Kitale (1926), Eldoret-Uganda (1928), Nyahururu (1929) and Kisumu-Butere (1932).
Some of the lines have however been neglected for many years.
The revival of the meter-gauge railway is highly seen as the link between the SGR from Mombasa to the Malaba border. This was after the initial plans to have the SGR go all the way to the border town failed due to its high cost of construction.
Despite the time it takes, cargo transport seems to have found a lifeline with rail compared to using the road, which would take days. It has also eased congestion on the roads.