Economy

Rail firm plans Sh5bn expansion on Nairobi routes

train

Commuters wait to board a train at the Kenya Railway Station in Nairobi. The Kenya Railways Corporation plans to upgrade 20 stations to woo city commuters. PHOTO | FILE

Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) has announced a two-year plan to upgrade its Nairobi infrastructure at a cost of Sh5 billion in a move seeking to raise commuter numbers tenfold.

Managing director Atanas Maina said the project has already commenced with upgrade of the Ruiru station at a cost of Sh300 million.

Over the period, 20 stations will either be built or rehabilitated in Nairobi under a public private partnership model.

Rift Valley Railways (RVR) currently operates the Nairobi commuter rail services on a one year concession but trains only carry a small fraction of city workers with matatus ferrying the bulk.

“The works on the Ruiru station have commenced and we have also competed designs for another five which have been tendered and the winning contractors will be announced soon,” Mr Maina said.

“The designs for another five have been completed and will be tendered in the coming months as we embark on designs for the remaining ones.

The new stations will be put up in places where the trains stop but there are no platforms like Doonholm.”

Besides Doonholm, other areas likely to see new stations are Githurai, Lukenya, Kibera, Kahawa and Kikuyu. The rehabilitation also targets Embakasi Village, Dandora and Dagoretti.

The project is funded by the World Bank and the government. The World Bank has been supporting the improvement of the Nairobi commuter rail system over the last several years including provision of funds to build houses for people who were living too close to the railway track in Kibera.

READ: Kenya Railways woos Nairobi commuters with new-look wagons

Mr Maina said they expect that improvements in the stations as well as increase in the rolling stock (engines and coaches). He added that the tracks upgrade would see passenger numbers grow by up to 10 times from the current 13,000 per day.

Kenya Railways has been looking to expand its ‘park and ride’ concept that was only implemented in a few stations like Syokimau and Imara Daima.

It involves car owners leaving their vehicles at the stations parking area at a lower parking fee (about Sh100) and taking the train to the city.

The KRC is also conducting a study to develop a master plan on the commuter rail operations which will inform the needed capital investments by the government and private investors.

The study is expected to be completed by the end of this year.