This archive report was first published on 8 July 2020.
Kenya Railways has announced the resumption of the Madaraka Express passenger service, which will begin on Monday, July 13, 2020, following the lifting of the cessation of movement in and out of Nairobi Metropolitan Area, Mombasa, Kilifi, and Kwale counties by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia announced the resumption of the service, stating that the first train will depart Nairobi at 8 am on Monday and is expected to arrive at the Coast at 12:45 pm.
The train will then leave Mombasa for Nairobi at 1:25 pm and is expected back in the Capital at 6:40 pm, providing ample time for passengers to reach their destinations before the commencement of the curfew at 9 pm.
Kenya Railways has taken measures to maintain social and physical distancing on the train, deploying 10 coaches for passengers with a total one-way capacity of 600 passengers, which is 50% capacity.
Additionally, an extra coach will be deployed to be used for the isolation of passengers suspected to be infected with COVID-19 during the journey.
According to CS Macharia, the extra coach will leave empty and is expected to arrive in Mombasa empty, as it will be used solely for the purpose of carrying any suspected case of COVID-19 detected during the journey between Nairobi and Mombasa and vice versa.
