Mombasa SGR terminus in Miritini after President Uhuru Kenyatta launched
commuter train on May 31, 2017. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA
GROUP
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday joined more than a
thousand Kenyans and diplomats in an inaugural ride on the brand new
passenger train from Mombasa to Nairobi.
The journey
aboard the Madaraka Express, travelling on the standard gauge railway,
saw close to 1,300 people travel to Nairobi from Coast for free.
They
were also treated to free food and drinks. The number of passengers
exceeded the 1,200 limit but President Kenyatta told reporters aboard
one of the coaches that the trip signalled the start of good tidings for
the Kenyan public transport system.
“I feel glad. It
is wonderful and a new experience that we will be bringing to all
Kenyans at an affordable price,” he said, adding: “This is a true
beginning of our transformation and ultimately Kenyans from all corners
will begin to see the benefits, not just from this rail but the
ancillary activities that will begin to develop as a result of us
developing this line and its continuation to Kisumu.”
CHARGED SH700
The
President rode with his deputy William Ruto, Cabinet secretaries,
senior government officials, diplomats and Chinese officials.
During several stop-overs, the President said travellers will be
charged Sh700 on the economy class between Nairobi and Mombasa and as
little as Sh50 for a ride between Mombasa and Mariakani. Tickets can be
bought at any train station.
The train, driven by China-trained
assistant locomotive drivers Alice Mugure, 27, and Concilia Owire, 23,
had 16 coaches, 15 of which were filled to capacity.
Escorted
by police and military choppers, the train carried many government
heads of department and parastatal chiefs, including those who have
since resigned to run for political office. It also had politicians and
elected leaders.
DIPLOMATS
One
coach was filled with employees from the Central Bank, National
Treasury and the Kenya Revenue Authority while another had diplomats
from across Africa invited to witness what President Kenyatta termed a
reopening of the hinterland. Another carried the Chinese.
Journalists, ordinary Kenyans and chiefs clad in their uniforms occupied other coaches as the train began its first journey.
Some of the
passengers had to stand for most of the journey as others were left
behind when they disembarked with the President during the many
stopovers.
As the train snaked through the dry lands
of Makueni, King Ramadhan Divayu Babisan from Tana River sat near the
window, enjoying the view of wild animals grazing on the roadside.
ENJOYABLE TRIP
“The
trip has been enjoyable and it has given me a new experience I never
imagined,” said the leader of one of the smallest communities — the
Wailwana from Bura, Tana River. “We just need to focus on the scourge of
corruption, which may threaten this service as it has done to other
projects before,” he added.
His local chief, he
explained, selected him to enjoy the ride because he is a community
leader who sometimes teaches the public about civil rights and duties.
Mr
Martin Owino, of Mt Kenya University, who said he was selected for the
trip because he is a student leader, described his experience: “It has
been a great feeling. I am happy, especially today, because the ride has
been smooth and we were served by the youth. I feel it is a good
opportunity for them and this is what we need to focus on.”
In his
briefing to journalists, the President said he hoped there will be a
continuity of infrastructure projects regardless of who wins the August 8
elections.
He said all projects under Vision 2030 must be completed regardless of changes in government.
LOAN FROM CHINA
“It
is my strong belief that administrations come and go. Governments are
permanent and so we have a responsibility as leaders and even those who
come after us to follow through because all these projects are all
envisioned in Vision 2030 and they belong to Kenyans,” he said.
The
railway is the product of a loan worth Sh327 billion from China. It had
been conceived during the Grand Coalition Government of Mwai Kibaki and
Raila Odinga.
The President said his
administration was following through a vision established years ago when
he was not in power “When we took over in 2013, there are no projects
that we stopped. We actually focused ourselves on finishing those that
had been initiated or were in various stages of completion by the
previous administration,” he said.
“We only started our
programmes once we had completed old ones. That is why we are now at
the tail-end. We actually delayed some of the projects we had wanted to
start to complete the pending ones.”
The passenger and cargo trains will now continue on test runs until December when they will be fully operational.
The
President said the railway’s related facilities such as special
economic zones in Naivasha, an industrial zone in Voi, an expanded
railway to Kisumu and an expanded port, were in the pipeline.
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