Passengers seeking to travel to Kenya’s coastal city, Mombasa and back to Nairobi will have to book their tickets a month before and not 14 days before like has been.
Kenya Railways Managing Director Atanas Maina in a statement yesterday in a statement said the new arrangement will streamline services as well as cater for an increasing demand for passengers traveling on the SGR.
He said Kenya Railways is bent on ensuring an ever-increasing demand for SGR will be catered for by the management at all costs.
“Travellers on the Madaraka Express Passenger Service can purchase a ticket by dialing *639# on a Safaricom line, follow outlined steps as prompted by the system and pay by M-Pesa,” said Maina as quoted by the Standard.
The USSD payment solution according to Maina will enable one to check availability of tickets on a particular date and allows a traveler to buy a maximum of five tickets in one transaction.
“Tickets can also be purchased over the counters at the respective departing stations. As a result of the adjustment in the advance ticket booking window, group bookings will now be done 32 days to the travel date and not 16 days as has been.”
SGR has been in operation for the last seven months since it was officially opened by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
It has gained popularity among Kenyans due to its convenience and affordability.
Hitherto, approximately 660,106 passengers have traveled via the SGR.