Economy

Commuters to pay Sh100 on new high speed trains

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A train hostess waits to usher in commutters to a DMU at the newly refurbished Nairobi Central Railway Station on November 10. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NMG

Passengers will pay a flat rate of Sh100 on the newly launched high speed diesel trains scheduled for city routes.

Traversing through several estates across Nairobi and its environs, the Diesel Multiple-Units (DMUs), will operate on a fixed schedule across the city and will charge passengers the flat rate to each destination.

They are expected to more than double passenger rail traffic from the current 15,000 to 40,000 in the race to reduce reliance on the slow and costly road transport.

The trains will serve Syokimau, Makadara, Pipeline, Donholm, Imara Daima, Embakasi Village, Ruiru, Kahawa West, Dandora, Githurai, Kikuyu, Kibra and Dagoretti.

“We will charge Sh100 at every stop on DMUs. I don’t think the prices are high. If we charge low prices, how do we sustain operations?” asked KRC managing director Philip Mainga.

The corporation mainly operates the old rickety locomotives in the morning and in the evening, plying the same routes that will be operated by DMUs.

The older commuter trains charges between Sh40 and Sh60 to ferry passengers within the city. Each train has 10 coaches each carrying between 150 and 170 passengers per trip. The reconditioned trains are part of the Master Plan of an integrated commuter system within the city and will be linked to the Bus Rapid Transit connecting from the Nairobi Central Station.