This archive report was first published on 20 June 2020.
On June 20, 2020, a team of technocrats and politicians took a trial run on the Nairobi-Nanyuki railway line. The group, which included officials from Kenya Railways, Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi, his deputy John Mwaniki, and Kieni MP Kanini Kega, was on a short trip from Nanyuki to Chaka.
However, their train collided with a car at Kwa Jei point, which is between Narumoru and Chaka townships. The car driver had opted for a shortcut across the railway line to join the Nairobi-Nanyuki highway and did not hear the train hoot or see it approach.
The car was pushed to about 200 meters, damaging the co-driver's seat. The driver escaped unhurt, but the incident temporarily stopped the trip.
Despite the minor accident, the train operations are set to resume in two weeks after successful refurbishing of the old 178-km line. Kenya Railways plans to connect the line to the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport Corridor project.
Top on the list of anchor clients will be Vivo Energy Company, which will use the line to ferry fuel from Nairobi to their depot in Nanyuki. Genesio Mugo, the manager in charge of stakeholders and government relations at Vivo Energy, said the depot had a capacity to store 12 million litres of fuel.
Kenya Railways has also engaged British Army Training Unit in Kenya (BATUK) to ferry military equipment from Mombasa to their Nanyuki unit through the train. Colonel Finlay Bibby of BATUK said:
