A collage of an SGR train and Madaraka Expressway booking portal
On February 2, Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) released a statement refuting that a picture of an empty coach doing rounds on social media reflected dwindling numbers of Kenyans travelling using the Madaraka Expressway.
Following the statement, Kenyans.co.ke undertook a five-day investigation on how many Kenyans were travelling from Nairobi to Mombasa using the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) service.
For methodology, the 10:00 PM express train was used as a sample for the investigation and tabulation was only done after the 3:00 PM express train departed for Mombasa.
A cumulative 2,457 empty seats were recorded over the investigation period indicating that fewer Kenyans were unwilling or unable to pay for the Ksh4,500 or Ksh1,500 for the First Class and Economy respectively.
A collage showing empty seats at SGR.
KRC when asked about the data directed that Kenyans.co.ke draft a formal email to the director who would reply accordingly.
By the time of publication, KRC had not responded to the queries raised.
Tabulation
Noteworthy, while over the five-day period Kenyans.co.ke tabulated 2,457 empty seats, the final number could vary due to late bookings and last-minute cancellations.
On Friday, February 2, hours after KRC released a statement about the state of its passenger trains, the express train had 110 empty first-class seats and 43 in the economy section.
The following day, the number of empty seats in economy rose to 638 with the first class section having 87 empty seats.
On Sunday, February 4, after the 3:00 PM train had long departed to Mombasa, the 10;00 PM train still had 105 empty seats in first class and 331 in economy class.
On Monday, February 5, the number of empty seats in first class dropped significantly to 82 seats but the economy remained high at 449.
A day before the compilation of the report, there were over 533 empty seats in economy class and 79 empty seats in first class.
Interpretation
At full capacity, the Madaraka Express passenger train can carry up to 1,678 passengers meaning that there were times the train was operating at half capacity.
While the empty seats are a worrying trend for the Madaraka Expressway passenger service, it does not wholly raise alarm for KRC.
KRC operates three Madaraka Expressway train trips every day with varying degrees of success.
Additionally, the SGR operates a successful freight service and on Monday, February 5, Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen announced that due to the success of the cargo business, KRC was adding 300 new wagons to meet the increasing demand.
Kenyans speaking on the empty seats complained about the decision by KRC to hike price fares by 50 per cent starting January 1, 2024.
Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen receiving new SGR wagons on February 5, 2024.
By Newshub