Kenya Railways moots plan for Sh8b Riruta-Ngong commuter railway

Kenya Railways workers undertake repair works at Kiganjo Railway Station on July 3, 2020. [Mose Sammy, Standard]

Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) is considering constructing a new metre gauge railway line to serve Ngong town in the government's bid to decongest Ngong Road.

The railway line, which is expected to cost Sh8.2 billion, will start at Riruta where it will branch off the Nairobi-Kikuyu line and cut through Dagoretti South and Lang'ata sub-counties in Nairobi, proceeding to Kajiado North Sub-county in Kajiado County and terminate in Ngong town.

It will have four stations in Lenana, Karen, Bulbul, and Ngong. It will also entail the construction of a three-kilometre bridge from Southern Bypass to Karen Shopping Centre.

"The proposed Riruta-Ngong Metre Gauge Railway (MGR) Commuter Project is envisaged to cost approximately Sh8.2 billion. The works are estimated to be completed within a construction period of 12 months with a 12-month defect liability period during which the contractor is expected to maintain the system and carry out repair works which may occur to the satisfaction of the proponent and supervision project engineers," said Kenya Railways in an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (Esia) submitted to Nema as it sought approvals for the project.

KRC said the project aims at addressing transportation challenges experienced by commuters from Ngong to Nairobi's Central Business District (CBD).

Ngong Road is characterised by heavy traffic jams owing to a high number of vehicles, particularly during peak hours.

Recent upgrades of the transport infrastructure, including the dualling of the segment between Dagoretti Corner and Karen as well as the construction of the Nairobi Southern Bypass, have not been adequate to handle the traffic growth.

Ngong town is one of Nairobi's satellite towns and tends to have a high number of people commuting to and from the towns for work and other errands every day.

The Nairobi Metropolitan Authority has in the past made a conservative estimate that Sh100 billion is lost to traffic jams annually in Nairobi and a good chunk of this could be lost on Ngong Road.