Jumping on the train of dreams

The train system- an enormously underutilized mode of transport - is known for anything but it’s reliability, but the boys and girls at Rift Valley Railways want to turn things around. Envision a situation where the train is the preferred mode of transport instead of the alternative: a dusty jam on Chiromo Road.

Imagine sitting in a clean nice car, reading a newspaper while sipping your coffee (or tea) waiting to get to work; no winding queue for matatu’s in the morning. You can live anywhere because there would be no more battling with traffic on the ever notorious Thika Road or Mombasa Highway.

For that matter, imagine living in your house in Nyeri, or Nakuru and still making it to work on time at the lowest possible cost. Joel Omeno, a night watchman at a construction site along Ngong Road in Nairobi, is one guy that holds such dreams and believes that they can and will come true one day; this coming from a guy that earns Kshs 350 a night, lives in Dandora and uses the commuter train daily.

“I spend just 25-bob to take the train to town then walk the rest of the way,” he says. “In the morning (when going back home), I spend another 25-bob. If I take a matatu, I will spend over 100-bob to cover the same distance,” he says. As the sole provider for his family of wife and two boys, both school goers, Omeno has to stick to a tight budget. “I cannot afford [even a matatu].”

Omeno’s sentiments are echoed by over 700,000 loyal passengers who use the commuter train every month under the watchful eye of Daniel Matata, Rift Valley Railways (RVR) Passenger Service Manager. With just five railway lines to cater for the entire city, Matata says that the biggest challenge facing commuter train transportation is infrastructure.

“If the government would invest in the infrastructure and rolling stock (the aesthetics of the coach), we would be able to meet the demand.” Indeed, the UP team experienced the same when we took a train to Kahawa and back to Nairobi. While on transit, our train had to stop for about half-an-hour to give way to two oncoming trains—one from Embakasi and another from Dandora.

But this wasn’t a surprise, as it was already explained before our departure from Nairobi. “Timing is everything, otherwise we might have some serious accidents,” says Bilha Acheing, our conductor during the ride. Because of its affordability, one of the main challenges commuters face is congestion and insecurity.

Sometimes, some passengers don’t like paying. “It is only 25 bob,” Achieng says. “But passengers, especially those who insist on hanging (dangerously) outside or on the roof of the train, don’t usually pay.” But security officers stationed at random check points usually catch up with such passengers.

“They end up paying hefty fines to discourage others who might want to do the same thing.” It is also a source of many accidents; some commuters fall from the roof and are either maimed or crushed to death by the moving train. But just before our journey to Kahawa, Achieng was on the receiving end of one of the passengers, a heavily built man, who had refused to pay the full fare.

“It happens, so we’ve learnt how to deal it,” she tells me. “Some (dishonest passengers) look down upon women conductors and think they can get away by bullying.” But that particular passenger took to his heels when he realized that Achieng had signaled one of her supervisors to intervene. “They use such panya (unofficial) routes,” Achieng said pointing into the direction the guy disappeared into.

Delays are another challenge facing the train service. Philemon Kiplagat, a senior train driver explains that most delays are caused by congestion. Sometimes the cars carry too many people, which in turn slows down the train. Also, some commuters familiar with the train mechanics (in the break coach) sometimes pull the car brakes stopping the train at undesignated areas.

Safety is also an issue with the train crew. Sometimes the passengers can get violent, risking both their lives and that of the crew.

Despite such challenges, RVR still operates at an average of 96 percent punctuality rate in all its commuter routes. Additionally, the team plans to solve the issue of dishonest passengers, and sometimes crew, by use of an e-ticketing system.

“It will give us an indication of which areas are busier at a particular time therefore re-distribute the resources according to demand,” says James Siele, the General Manager Passenger Service. RVR is also in the process of acquiring new cars, dubbed the Diesel Multiple Units (DMU’s), to ferry city commuters. Siele adds that the new super fast units, ferrying about 300 passengers per coach per trip, will have two car heads and will therefore be able to cut the turnaround time by half.

Like Joel Omeno, the night watchman we spoke to, commuter trains are the way to go, mainly because the service is

inexpensive; the fares range between Ksh 25 to Ksh 40, which is far more affordable than matatu’s or buses. The train would ideally be most people’s first choice if it served the entire city.

Currently, the passenger train service serves Embakasi, Dandora and Kahawa. Maybe after making bigger investments in the commuter transport Omeno’s dream will become a reality. By the look of things, it is only a matter of time before he achieves this. While reading this year’s budget, Uhuru Kenyatta, the Minister of Finance said that the government had committed Ksh. 2.8 billion to improve of the railway line over the next five years. Maybe then, we can all jump on the train of dreams.

Did you know: - To be a train driver, you need to go for three years of theoretical training and two years as a supervised driver for a single line.