Kenya Railways to unveil online ticketing for SGR next week

Kenya Railways has announced plans to overhaul the ticketing system for the Madarka Express after initial hitches following the launch last week.

The railway operator is set to introduce online booking and ticketing a feature most passengers have called for since services on the standard gauge railway began.

Kenya Railways Managing Director Atanas Maina said on Wednesday that this would enhance the travel experience for passengers who were forced to physically go to the train stations to purchase a ticket.

“We will continue to enhance the customer experience and optimize our services through continuous improvement of our internal systems such as retraining staff on service delivery,” Mr Maina said.

Passengers will also be able to purchase tickets on the day of travel as opposed to three days in advance as is currently the practice.

Kenya Railways currently charges Sh700 for a ticket on economy one way between Mombasa and Nairobi and Sh3,000 for a first class ticket.

The railway operator has two trains plying the route daily but is looking to increase the schedule as demand for the train service rise.

“With demand for our services at an all-time high we are looking forward to scheduling additional trains,” he added.

The challenge for passengers so far has been the missing link between the train stations and the central business district either in Mombasa or Nairobi given the stations location out of town.

To address this, Kenya Railways has at the same time partnered with the National Transport and Safety Authority to enable private bus operators provide last mile services to and from the various destinations along the route.

For passengers in Nairobi, Kenya Railways has scheduled a daily train to the Nairobi terminus that will be dropping off travelers in the morning from the City Centre and transporting them back to the city from 1 PM when they arrive from Mombasa.

In Mombasa, the access road is in its completion phase and thus is expected to provide a fluid road connection to the Miritini Station from Mombasa City.

Tags:

tourism Atanas Maina SGR NTSA travel kenya railways transport train railway online ticketing

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