SGR New Guidelines Ahead Of Resumption Of Services On Monday

The Kenya Railways Corporation has released new guidelines to guide passengers on the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) train that will be resuming services on 15th July 2020.

Passenger services will be resuming the Nairobi to Mombasa after over a month of closure and will have 10 coaches to ferry 600 people on a one-way trip.

The newly set measures are as follows:

At the entry and at the exit points of the stations, all passengers will be subjected to body temperature screening and will also be required to wash hands or sanitize before entry.

All passengers and staff will undergo physical screening conducted by the security personnel, who shall at all times wear protective equipment, and the entry escalators in the terminus will only be available for Persons Living with Disorders (PLWDs).

If any passenger, staff, or visitor is found with such symptoms as fever i.e temperatures above 37.5, fatigue and dry cough, he or she shall immediately be identified, isolated and handed over to the Health Officials for further verification and temperature checks to ascertain whether they are infected or not.

Passengers will also be required to maintain a physical distance of 1.5 meters while entering the station while children below 10 years must be accompanied by the guardians when entering the station with a maximum of two children shall be accompanied by one adult.

At the ticketing area, counters with glass barriers shall be manned by an officer in PPE and shall print all the tickets on behalf of the passengers as they shall not be allowed to operate the ticketing machine.

Passengers are encouraged to book tickets online since there will be no cash transaction at the ticketing lounge to curb on the exchange of money and limit the spread of COVID-19.

Refunds to passengers who will change their minds on traveling are not encouraged with rescheduling rather than cancel the travel.

All restaurant operators shall be required to comply with the new guidelines for restaurants and eateries to be allowed to operate.

At the waiting lounges and lobbies, seats will be marked to direct the sitting arrangement to achieve allowable distancing.

All offices within the station area shall comply with all Covid-19 protocols and there will be separate entrances to the offices and passenger waiting areas.

The first SGR train is scheduled to depart Nairobi at 8 am on Monday and arrive in Mombasa at 12:45 pm.

The government will also provide a new commuter service that will link the Nairobi SGR terminus in Syokimau to Nairobi Central Business District.

This Passenger service shall run from Nairobi CBD to SGR terminus at 6:35 am in the morning. The same train will leave Mombasa at 1:25 pm and is expected back in the capital at 6:40 pm.

An extra coach will leave empty and will be used to carry any suspected case of Covid-19 detected during the journey between Nairobi and Mombasa and vice versa.

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