Hundreds stranded at night as Kikuyu bound train breaks midway

NAIROBI: More than 800 passengers were Monday night stranded inside coaches of a Kikuyu bound train after the train’s engine developed fault along the track near Madaraka Estate.

While most passengers were forced to remain inside the dark coaches being drenched by an evening rain, those who had boarded to alight at Kibera Sub-station opted to trek.

“The train stalled 20 minutes after leaving the station, the coaches do not have light, we are crammed with most people standing and it is raining,” a passenger who was on her way to Kikuyu told the Standard Digital.

The commuters’ troubles started even before they departed, the train that normally leaves the Nairobi CBD station at 5:40pm left an hour late only to lose all power in a vegetated section of the railway far from other modes of transport.

Passengers reported that the train’s conductor told them the engine had earlier in the day been grounded for service. They also complained that despite being informed of the stalling, the train’s operators said they had to wait for a rescue engine to fuel from the Makadara Station which is kilometres in the opposite side of town.

“Imagine it is almost 9, we have not gotten home to rest and prepare for work tomorrow, a journey that used to take 45 minutes these days take more than two hours because the engines are not efficient, we experience incessant breakdowns and slow pace,” said a regular commuter who said they use to train because matatus drop people before reaching their destinations during rush hour other than being discourteous.

The commuters who included pupils got home past 10pm.