Commuter rail could be answer to Nairobi’s chaotic traffic jams

NAIROBI, KENYA: Peter Kinyua never advocated for the Nairobi commuter train service. This is before he used it. But after using it last month, he was somehow impressed, especially with the 25 minutes that it took him from Imara Daima to town, which ordinarily takes him upwards of an hour, sometimes as many as three when using Mombasa Road which is gridlocked mostly in mornings.

He has several pit peeves with the service including the ticketing that he said was ill managed and that there are little or no security checks. There is also the fact that the train schedules are such that if you miss the seven o’clock one, you will have to make alternative arrangements for you to commute to the Central Business District. The seven o’clock train was also not on time that particular day, which he took to mean the lateness might be a habit rather than exemption. And he is not alone, given the rants on Kenya Railways’ social network pages.