| Nairobi Commuter Rail | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Stations | 22 |
| Service | |
| Type | Commuter rail |
| Services | 5 |
| Operator(s) | Kenya Railways Corporation |
| Daily ridership | 7354 [1] |
| Technical | |
| Track length | 165 km (102.53 mi) [2] |
| Number of tracks | Double track between Makadara and Nairobi, single track elsewhere [3] |
| Track gauge | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge |
The Nairobi Commuter Rail (NCR) is a rail network serving Nairobi and its suburbs. It has five lines and 22 stations. In the first six months of 2023, the service was used by 7354 passengers daily. [1]
After undergoing modernization, the NCR was inaugurated on 10 November 2020 by president Uhuru Kenyatta. [4]
On 15 December 2023, president William Ruto launched construction of the new Riruta–Ngong line that will run through Riruta, Karen, Bulbul and Ngong stations, to be built by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC). [5] The second phase will extend this line to Kiserian, and the third phase will extend it to Ongata Rongai. [6]
There are plans to extend the Nairobi–Embakasi Village line to Ruai and the Nairobi–Syokimau line to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. [7]
Nairobi Commuter Rail Map |
|---|
| Line | Services per day (both directions) [8] | Average daily ridership (2023H1) [1] |
|---|---|---|
| Nairobi – Embakasi Village | 15 | 1994 |
| Nairobi– Syokimau | 14 [lower-alpha 1] | 1465 |
| Nairobi– Limuru | 2 | 920 |
| Nairobi– Lukenya | 4 | 354 |
| Nairobi– Ruiru | 4 [lower-alpha 2] | 2622 |
In April 2020 Kenya Railways acquired 11 refurbished diesel multiple units from Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca. [9] These trains were built between 1994 and 2003 by CAF as Serie 61 de SFM and were running on the metre gauge railway network on the Spanish island of Mallorca.
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Commuter rail systems are considered heavy rail, using electric or diesel trains. Distance charges or zone pricing may be used.
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also generally classed as DMUs. Diesel-powered units may be further classified by their transmission type: diesel–mechanical DMMU, diesel–hydraulic DHMU, or diesel–electric DEMU.
Transport in Kenya refers to the transportation structure in Kenya. The country has an extensive network of paved and unpaved roads.
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nairobi, which translates to 'place of cool waters', a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper had a population of 4,397,073 in the 2019 census. The city is commonly referred to as The Green City in the Sun.
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, is an international airport serving Nairobi, the capital and largest city of Kenya. The other three important international airports in Kenya include Kisumu International Airport, Moi International Airport and Eldoret International Airport. JKIA is located in the Embakasi suburb 18 kilometres (11 mi) southeast of Nairobi's central business district, the airport has scheduled flights to destinations in over 50 countries. Originally named Embakasi Airport, the airport's name was changed in 1978 after Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first President and Prime Minister. The airport served over 7 million passengers in 2016, making it the seventh busiest airport in passenger traffic on the continent.
Renfe, officially Renfe-Operadora, is Spain's national state-owned railway company.
The Philippine National Railways (PNR) is a state-owned railway company in the Philippines which operates one commuter rail service between Metro Manila and Laguna, and local services between Sipocot, Naga and Legazpi in the Bicol Region. It is an attached agency of the Department of Transportation.
Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022.
Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca or SFM is a company which operates the metre gauge railway network on the Spanish island of Majorca. The total length, including Palma Metro, also operated by this company, is 85 km.
Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC), also Kenya Railways (KR) is the national railway of Kenya. Established in 1977, KR is a state corporation.
Rail transport in Kenya consists of a metre-gauge network and a new standard-gauge railway (SGR). Both railways connect Kenya's main port city of Mombasa to the interior, running through the national capital of Nairobi. The metre-gauge network runs to the Ugandan border, and the Mombasa–Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway, financed by a Chinese loan, reaches Suswa.
Embakasi, also known as Eastlando by its local youth residents, is a neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi. It is approximately 18 kilometres (11 mi), southeast of the central business district. Embakasi is considered part of Nairobi's Eastlands area, lying to the south-east of Nairobi County. The Embakasi proper covers other estates in Eastlands such as Donholm, Pipeline, Tena, and Makadara estates. It borders South C and contains South B and slightly more than one third of Nairobi's Industrial Area and Export Processing Zones.
Commuter is a brand of suburban rail services operated by Iarnród Éireann in the Republic of Ireland, serving the cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway. This brand is distinct from the longer distance InterCity brand, and Dublin's higher frequency DART brand. Most Commuter services share a track with InterCity services. During the first decade of the new millennium, Iarnród Éireann put a significant amount of effort into upgrading its network, with new tracks, signalling, station upgrades and trains. Commuter services are operated by diesel multiple unit train sets.
South B is the name of a Division of the sub-county of Starehe in Nairobi, Kenya and the name of a "sub-location" of Mukuru Nyayo within the Division. The 2019 Kenya Census gives a population of 102,441 for South B Division and 34,216 for the sub-location. South B is about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south-east of Nairobi Central Business District; the Industrial Area lies to the east and the South C district to the south-west.
Syokimau is a residential area in the west of Machakos County, Kenya, just south of Nairobi and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
The Mombasa–Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway is a standard-gauge railway (SGR) in Kenya that connects the large Indian Ocean city of Mombasa with Nairobi, the country's capital and largest city. This SGR runs parallel to the narrow-gauge Uganda Railway that was completed in 1901 under British colonial rule. The East African Railway Master Plan provides for the Mombasa–Nairobi SGR to link with other SGRs being built in the East African Community.
The Uganda Standard Gauge Railway is a planned railway system linking the country to the neighboring countries of Kenya, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan, as part of the East African Railway Master Plan. The new Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), is intended to replace the old, inefficient metre-gauge railway system. The entire 1,724 kilometres (1,071 mi) SGR in Uganda will cost an estimated $12.8 billion.
The Nairobi–Malaba Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is the project of standard-gauge railway that should connect Kenya's capital city of Nairobi to Malaba, at the international border with Uganda. The Nairobi–Malaba SGR was to connect other standard gauge railways in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, under the East African Railway Master Plan.
The Kenya Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is a partially fnished railway system connecting Kenya's cities. Once completed, it will link the country to the neighboring country of Uganda, and through Uganda, to South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi. There are also plans to link to Addis Ababa, in neighboring Ethiopia to the north. The first segment, between Mombasa and Nairobi, opened passenger rail service in June 2017, and freight rail service in January 2018. Other segments are under construction or planned. The new standard gauge railway, is intended to replace the old, inefficient metre-gauge railway system.
