Kenya Railways in fresh bid for 6.5km Syokimau rail link to JKIA
The plan to develop a railway link between Syokimau station (above) and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport was mooted in 2011, but stalled. PHOTO | FILE
Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) has submitted a fresh funding request to the Treasury as it seeks to build a 6.5-kilometre rail link between the Syokimau station and the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi.
Managing director Atanas Maina, however, said they are yet to receive a response from Treasury secretary Henry Rotich.
The plan to develop the link was mooted in 2011 but was later shelved after the government failed to allocate funds.
“Currently, we’ve submitted fresh proposals to the government to see how we can develop it (the link). The Treasury is still looking at the proposals,” he said.
Large exchange
Syokimau is set to be a large exchange station where passengers from the standard gauge railway (SGR) line will alight and take another train on the commuter rail system for the final leg of the journey to the Nairobi’s city centre.
The plan for construction of the link involves having the rail pass under Mombasa Road.
Mr Maina said in the event funding for the rail is unavailable, a road linking the airport and Syokimau would be constructed.
The plan to have a train service between the JKIA and Nairobi city centre is considered important to cut down on the amount of time spent in traffic.
The original plan in 2012 had indicated that the JKIA train would run express to the CBD, covering the 22km journey in 25 minutes. This would be an improvement on the journey that can last up to two hours during rush hour.
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