The Madaraka Express on the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) will from Thursday, October 1 have an additional afternoon express train ply the Nairobi – Mombasa route as demand passenger travel demand increases.
In a statement on Wednesday, Kenya Railways said that this is in-line with keeping up with passenger demand.
“As from 1st October 2020, we will have an additional afternoon express train to and from Nairobi and Mombasa. Get onboard! part of the statement read.
In April, Kenya Railways pulled off the second Madaraka Express train operating between Nairobi and Mombasa due to coronavirus pandemic.
A few days later, SGR passenger services were all suspended leaving the cargo section operational.
The second Madaraka Express operating in the afternoon will leave Nairobi at 2:15 pm and arrive in Mombasa at 7:30 pm while that from Mombasa will leave at 2:15 pm and arrive at 7:20 pm in Nairobi.
Train services resumed on July 15 and the demand was still low. However, with eased travel restrictions, the demand for travel on SGR has since increased.
More Kenyans are travelling to the coast for short holidays after a four-month hiatus due to coronavirus pandemic which struck in March.
By 2018 March, almost a year since the Madaraka Express started its operations, it had ferried 1.7 million Kenyans, a number that increased in 2019 but was brought down in 2020.
By the time the virus struck in March, an estimated 19,000 passengers travelled on the SGR.
