Kenya to offer hourly schedule as more Nairobi DMUs arrive

[John Ashworth]

KRC to offer hourly rides as six more Nairobi trains arrive

Commuters in Nairobi will get hourly rides on the diesel-propelled trains after Kenya received the second batch from Spain in a Sh1.1 billion plan to decongest road traffic.

Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) chairman Omudho Awitta said the six trains that arrived in the country last week will see the corporation increase its frequencies- relieving hundreds of city commuters.

The first five batch of Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) that were launched last year have been operating on routes such as Syokimau –Nairobi and Embakasi –Nairobi.

The train on the Syokimau –Nairobi route operates five times per day while Embakasi-Nairobi train operates three times daily.

“The six batch of DMU’s have arrived in the country from Spain. We will now have trains running every hour across the Nairobi metropolitan area,” KRC chairman Omudho Awitta told the Business Daily in an interview yesterday.

Mr Awitta said once the trains arrive in Nairobi, the fleet will be used to complement operations on Nairobi-Embakasi, Nairobi-Ruiru, Nairobi-Kikuyu and Nairobi-Syokimau routes as well as the busy Nairobi-Athi River routes...