New Timetable For Madaraka Express Train

March 27, 2020 Majira Media

Following the outbreak of Coronavirus outbreak curfew of between 7pm to 5am, Kenya railway has announced new schedule for trains. This affects both Nairobi Commuter Train Services and the Madaraka express. With the changes in effect,there is a new timetable for Madaraka Express train and the Nairobi commuter train services.

The changes were announced by the Kenya Railways Managing Director Mr. Philip Mainga. These changes takes effect from March 27, 2020.

The Madaraka Express train that operates in the afternoon in both directions has been suspended. The Madaraka Express will only operate between two destinations.

The schedule for the operation is as Follows

Madaraka Express Timetable

Departure time 10:30am(Both Nairoi and Mombasa)
Arrival Time to Nairobi 3:46 pm
Arrival Time to Mombasa 4:07 pm

Stopovers

Voi
Mtito Andei
Kibwezi

Suspended Stopovers

Mariakani
Miasenyi
Emali
Athi River

“We have adjusted our schedule for the Madaraka Express Passenger Service between Mombasa and Nairobi and we will only operate one trip. We will have a train depart both Mombasa and Nairobi Termini at 10:30am simultaneously. The train to Nairobi will arrive at 15:46 hrs and the train to Mombasa will arrive at 16:07 hrs. This will be the Inter-County train which will now make stopovers at Voi, Mtito Andei and Kibwezi stations. We have temporarily suspended the stops at Mariakani, Miasenyi, Emali and Athi River Stations,” Mainga Said.

Following National Government’s directive on the 60% capacity rule we have suspended Madaraka Express Inter-County train stops at Athi River, Emali, Mariakani, Miasenyi stations from March 26, 2020.

Kindly observe the social distance while at the stations and onboard the trains pic.twitter.com/nWrABgnKSr

— Kenya Railways (@KenyaRailways_) March 25, 2020

According to the Kenya Railways Managing Director Mr Philip Mainga, the changes affect both the Madaraka Express Passenger Service and Nairobi Commuter Rail Service operations.

“Concerning the tickets, we will not re-issue tickets to the customers who had already booked as per the previous train schedule. Customers will instead use the already purchased tickets with the current details as long as the travel dates are valid. We have reviewed the manifests for each day and the trains are able to accommodate the numbers that have booked while observing the 60% directive.” Mr Mainga Said.

The adjustments will see the trains arrive at either destination early enough for the passengers to exit the stations and travel to their end destination before the 7pm curfew announced by the president.

The new changes will also see the link train schedule adjusted and the train will now depart the CBD station at 8:30am to Nairobi Terminus and depart Nairobi Terminus for the CBD station at 4:30pm

The time schedule for the Nairobi commuter train has been rescheduled. The train to Nairobi CBD will observe the following timetable for departure.

Nairobi Commuter Train Timetable

Departure (Morning Timetable)

Ruiru station at 6:10am,
Embakasi village station at 7:05am
Syokimau station at 6:30am
Kikuyu station at 6am
Kahawa station at 9am.

The changes also saw the Nairobi Commuter Rail Service schedule revised in order to cater for the new travel times.

In the evenings the following timetable will be observed

Evening Departure Time

Ruiru station at 4:20pm;
Embakasi Village station at 5:20pm;
Syokimau station at 5pm
Kikuyu station at 4:20pm.

Mr Mainga also noted that owing to the fact that majority of Kenyans are now working from home, there has been a reduction in the number of passengers for both services and therefore the Corporation has enough capacity on the trains to enable it efficiently implement the 60% rule aimed at observing social distance.

The Madaraka Express Passenger Service, has so transported over 4.2 million passengers to date,the trainhas a capacity of 7,000 passengers daily over the long-distance and 400 commuters over the Madaraka Express Commuter Service between Nairobi Terminus and Ngong’ station. The Nairobi News has reported.

The train had largely been adapted by commuters owing to its convenience and speed. The cargo train will however continue to operate as usual.

On the other hand, the Nairobi Commuter Rail Service caters for the transport needs of at least 30,000 Kenyans every day between Nairobi Central Business District and its surroundings.

Kenya Railways has also put in place measures to tackle Covid-19 with their dedicated response team addressing all requirements as guided by the Ministry of Health.