The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), passenger services resumed on Monday morning, a week after President Uhuru Kenyatta relaxed measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
Afristar Railway Operation Company, began operations at 8:00 a.m., with one train departing from the Nairobi terminus for Mombasa, where it is set to arrive at 12:45 p.m.
Thereafter, another train out of Mombasa will leave at 1:25 p.m. and arrive in Nairobi at 6:40 p.m. This will give ample time for passengers to travel to their final destinations prior to the 9:00 p.m. curfew.
The train services will be operating under strict coronavirus protocols. Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said the SGR will operate on a 50 percent capacity, with an extra coach for isolation.
To facilitate the smooth resumption of the services, Afristar Railway Operation Company has deployed 10 coaches including 8 economic coaches and 2 first-class coaches. This is in line with Macharia saying that 10 coaches should be provided to ferry close to 600 passengers on a one-way trip.
Additionally, all customer-facing employees shall wear masks and gloves. As of this morning, all passenger services staff serving customers have tested negative for Covid19.
SGR Passenger services were suspended on 7th April 2020 after President Kenyatta announced the cessation of movement into and out of the Nairobi Metropolitan Area, Mombasa County and Mandera County.
As of the 6th April 2020, over 4.3 million passengers had used Madaraka Express passenger service since it launched on 31st May 2017.
