Train Delays, Public Outcry Forces Kenya Railways To Respond After Sunday Setback
Kenya Railways responded to delays on the Standard Gauge Railway Madaraka Express on Sunday, August 2, calling the incident a one-off.
This was after several travellers raised concerns, pouring their frustrations to the railway corporation.
However, Kenya Railways said that the hitch was an exceptional occurrence that occurred only on that particular day.
“We sincerely apologise for the delays and inconvenience experienced during your journey,” Kenya Railways stated.
The agency added, “The extended travel time experienced on Sunday was an exceptional occurrence and was only on that particular day.”
However, some passengers have reported experiencing similar delays on previous occasions, raising questions about the frequency of disruptions on the service.
In one instance shared online, a passenger said they departed Nairobi at 3:00 pm but arrived in Mombasa at 10:40 pm, significantly later than the scheduled arrival time.
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In a separate account, another traveller said a train that left Mombasa at 8:00 am reached Nairobi at 2:40 pm, prompting calls for Kenya Railways to improve punctuality and communication during delays.
Under normal operations, the Madaraka Express journey between Nairobi and Mombasa takes about five hours and 10 minutes to five hours and 18 minutes, depending on the service and scheduled stops.
Based on those travel times, passengers on the two journeys would ordinarily have expected to arrive at around 8:10 pm and 1:10 pm respectively.
Kenya Railways has, on previous occasions, adjusted SGR schedules during extraordinary circumstances such as severe weather, flooding and major traffic disruptions to accommodate passengers unable to reach stations on time.
For example, the corporation has in the past delayed the departure of the 10:00 pm Nairobi-Mombasa night train to midnight during periods of widespread flooding and heavy traffic, allowing affected passengers additional time to board.
While Kenya Railways has maintained that Sunday’s disruption was an isolated event, some passengers say they have encountered similar delays before, highlighting concerns over service reliability.
Train Delays, Public Outcry Forces Kenya Railways To Respond After Sunday Setback
