Grand plan to expand city rail transport

Trying to beat traffic along various city roads to access the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) from the central business district will be a thing of the past if the government stays true to its latest plan. The grand plan also includes the modernization of the existing railway system increasing its capacity to serve close to 100,000 city commuters daily while creating 500 new direct jobs.

Passengers catching local and international flights at the country’s major airport will soon be able to access it through a direct railway line from the city’s main railway station. Transport Minister Chirau Mwakwere says the Government is working with the Rift Valley Railways and the Kenya Railways Corporation in order to put in place the railway line that will join the existing one at the Embakasi station.

“In the meantime, we will have an arrangement where those accessing the airport can board the train to Embakasi where they will then be put on a bus to take them inside the airport,” Mr Mwakwere said.
The minister added that the move aims to help those taking flights at the airport access it in as less as 20 minutes from the city centre. Currently, it takes air travelers up to one hour to access the country’s main airport through airport road, off Mombasa highway, due to traffic congestion that has become a norm on most Kenyan roads.

Most airports in developed countries are served by commuter trains with some of them allowing passengers to check in to their flights at railway stations. The trains are solely put in place to serve those who are either getting in or out of the airport.

In addition, the Government plans to pump Sh900 million to a railway expansion and modernization project in the capital. The project will see an introduction of four new railway routes linking the city and its environs. The new railway branches will include links to Thika, Limuru, Lukenya and Athi River, in an effort to make trains the main alternative form of transport for the capital.

The improved railway system intends to elevate the country into the league of few African nations that enjoy such elaborate railway services. Currently, only Egypt and South Africa can be said to have unmatched effective and efficient railway networks especially in the capitals.

A report released last year by the Architectural Association of Kenya warned that the city would grind to a halt in less than 15 years, if this problem is not adequately tackled. And the association, in the report, suggested that the city come up with a new master plan to deal effectively with this problem.

According to Mr Mwakwere, an efficient railway system is likely to provide train transportation for over 90,000 Nairobi residents daily. This, experts say, may fall in line with the Government’s plan of decongesting the city road network, where motorists are currently losing hundreds of man hours in the incessant traffic jams. The construction of the new railway branches, whose deadline is yet to be communicated, will also give way for the creation of up to 500 new direct jobs in the transport sector.

The transport minister divulges little detail but says this was one of the reforms that the Government planned to implement in the transport sector. Other than the infrastructure, the Government is working with the Rift valley Railways in another plan that will see the replacement of locomotive hauled trains with diesel multiple unit (DMU) trains.
“We will soon have an efficient railway system to serve the city and its environs more effectively and also help us save time and other related costs,” says Mr Mwakwere.

Mr Mwakwere however expresses concern over the encroachment of the railway line by the Mukuru Kwa Njenga informal settlements. He notes that the Government will dialogue with the slum residents and other stakeholders in order to find a lasting solution that will get them away from the railway reserve.

The minister, who recently made an inspection tour of the Embakasi-Kikuyu section of the railway, while riding at the train driver’s cabin, says it is necessary to take such a ride to understand the challenges the railway operators face especially along the slums. He says that the Government is committed in reclaiming the encroached railway land, which will be used for expansion and development of more lines in Nairobi.
The Government says it has set out designated areas within the city to relocate the slum residents and to allow them open their businesses under a three-year special safety programme known as the Relocation Action Plan.

City residents are currently served by a single commuter train service that plies through various populous estates in Nairobi in the morning and evening. The train is popular due to its affordability though the service provider was last week forced to suspend operations in one of the routes. Rift Valley Railways suspended operations on the Dandora-Kahawa-Ruiru route last week, following heightened incidents of passengers hanging on the city commuter train services and others sitting on the train’s rooftop.
RVR Managing Director Mr Roy Puffett, said the indefinite suspension of operations has been attributed to underlying security concerns on the busy route, which led to a fatal shooting incident at Dandora Halt. A stray bullet, fired by Kenya Railways Police, on a routine mission to arrest passengers hanging precariously on a commuter train, is said to have hit a fleeing Dandora resident.

Mr Mwakwere also says the Government’s plan to construct a 17-Kilometre railway bypass to supplement the portion that passes through the Kibera slum has already is on top gear. The bypass will move from Embakasi to the Ayany area of Kibera while avoiding the slum area. The Government has also said that there are plans to fence the railway line that passes through the slum and pedestrian fly-overs put in place to avoid destruction.
At least 11 sections of the Kenya-Uganda railway line had been vandalised during the post election violence nearly brought the region’s transport to its knees. Mr Mwakwere warned that those who are caught vandalising either the railway lines or any other transport network would be dealt with to the full force of the law.

Mr Mwakwere added that they would soon reveal the plan that will see the building of light rail and rapid bus systems within the city for mass transportation. The ministry has already advertised for a consultancy study, for the proposed transportation project to be funded by the African Development Bank, at a cost of Sh280 million. The proposed project is intended to link the city centre, with its suburbs for mass transportation of people in and out of town.

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Sources:Daily Nation
Story by OLIVER MATHENGE

Publication Date: 3/18/2008