Kenya Railways Unveils Ksh6B Train Service From SGR to Mombasa CBD & Fare Charges

President William Ruto on Wednesday, September 17, launched the commuter train service linking the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) terminus in Miritini and the Mombasa CBD, which was developed at a cost of Ksh6 billion.

Users of the commuter rail service will be charged Ksh50 per trip.

According to the government, the trains will ferry 5,000 people per day and is set to ease the burden for SGR users who have been depending on matatus and taxis.

For matatus, travelers are charged between Ksh300 and Ksh400, while taxis charge between Ksh800 and Ksh1,000 to ferry passengers from the SGR terminus to the CBD.

Apart from the SGR, the train service will also serve residents of Shimanzi, Mazeras, Changamwe, and other communities situated along the corridor.

Earlier, Kenya Railways had announced that the new station would offer a ‘park and ride' and ‘drop and ride’ for individuals with vehicles, given the capacity of 100 vehicles.

“Every time the Madaraka Express arrives, the Link train will be on standby to provide last-mile transport into Mombasa town,” Kenya Railways board chairman Abdi Bare stated then.

“Likewise, the Link train will transport passengers from Mombasa to the Miritini station to board the Express.”

At the commissioning, the President noted that the commissioning of the new railway line was part of the plans to revamp the railway system across the country.

He underpinned that the plans were to guarantee a working railway system running from Mombasa to the Kenya-Uganda border in  Malaba.

"In the bigger picture, this project is part of our government's ambitious strategy to expand Kenya's rail network from Naivasha to Malaba through Kisumu and across the Lamu Port-South Sudan transport corridor," Ruto stated.

Already, Kenya has secured funding for the extension of the SGR from Naivasha. The project, being done under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, will see private investors allowed to operate trains along the line.

The project is expected to cost Ksh380 billion.