The Kenya Railways announced that it had commenced the operation of express rail service to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) under the Nairobi Commuter Rail Service that will cost the normal Kenyan Sh500 to use, a fee that has been largely criticized by Kenyans from all walks.
The new service will see passengers heading to the airport take the diesel multiple units (DMU) at the Nairobi Central Station to Embakasi Village Station and then board the BRT buses from the Embakasi station to JKIA, a move expected to shorten the time it takes travelers to access the airport.
The entire journey from CBD to JKIA has been scheduled to take less than 30 minutes compared to more than 1 hour it currently takes passengers using Mombasa Road to access the regional aviation hub.
Commuters will access the airport through the refurbished Airport South Road which joins the end of Outering Road and has since been opened only for BRT buses.
Speaking during the commissioning of the JKIA express service, Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said there are additional plans to extend the service to link with SGR Nairobi terminus.
“There is another project which we are connecting the SGR terminus in Syokimau across Mombasa Road right into this JKIA terminal to make sure our tourists and business people when they fly into the JKIA they can ride 5km to Syokimau and take SGR to anywhere else they wish to go,” CS Macharia said.
According to CS Macharia, passengers will similarly be screened at the Embakasi station before getting on the BRT buses to the airport in line with COVID-19 health protocols, to minimize risk of infection among travelers.
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