SGR Records High Bookings Ahead Of Christmas Festivities

The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) passenger trains from Nairobi to Mombasa are nearly fully booked for December. Africa Star Railway Operation Company (Afristar), and Kenya Railways have reported passenger services to be above 90 percent booked with anticipation of more passengers in the coming few days.

“Few seats remain between December 1 and January 4 as most seats have been taken by domestic tourists and travelers going to Mombasa and the coast region, definitely for Christmas and New Year festivities,” the management said.

This comes as a boost to the tourism sector with hotels hoping to make a kill in the upcoming festivities. Mombasa is a popular destination for Christmas. Tourists and locals flock to the beaches to have fun as they bid goodbye to the year and usher in a new year.

The latest development has seen the SGR become the preferred mode of transport to the coast owing to its efficiency. It offers cheap tickets at 1,000 shillings for the economy and 3,000 shillings for first class. Children below three years are not charged any fee to take a ride on the train while those from 3-11 years pay half the price adults pay for the economy and first-class tickets.

“Over the past few days, we have experienced an unprecedented surge in demand for the Madaraka Express Passenger Service,” reads a statement.

The high bookings mean that holidaymakers will have to seek expensive alternatives to travel out of the busy capital. This includes flights and matatus. The cheapest flights to Mombasa during the Christmas week is at about 9,000 shillings for early bookings with the cost expected to surge further to up to over 15,000 shillings.

Matatus on the other hand charge between 1,500 shillings and 3,000 shillings depending on the bus company.

Kenya Railways has steadily increased coaches on the Nairobi-Mombasa line, since the SGR launch in June 2017, to match the rising demand that has denied bus operators new customers. SGR train has a capacity for 1,260 passengers with 15 economy classes and three first-class coaches. It also comes with a luggage carrier with a total capacity of 70 tonnes.

According to the Economic Survey 2022, passengers through SGR increased from 806,000 in 2020 to 1, 933,000 in 2021. This saw earnings from the Madaraka Express more than double to 2.2 billion shillings from 896 million shillings in 2020 when covid had hit the country hard, triggering travel restrictions.