Hundreds of travelers to Western and Nyanza region were forced to spend Tuesday night at the Kisumu Railway Station after the train stalled in Muhoroni.
The newly launched Nairobi-Kisumu train, which left Nairobi at 6am on Tuesday morning for its second trip to the lakeside city, had been expected to arrive in Kisumu at 6pm. But that didn't happen.
The train is reported to have developed a technical hitch at Tamu area in Muhoroni around 5pm. Passengers on board spent hours as a technical team went about fixing the problem.
It wasn’t until 10:38pm that the train pulled over at the Kisumu station, some four hours late.
The fully book train had more than 600 passengers on board, with of the travellers heading to Busia, Siaya and Kakamega counties ahead of the festive season.
"Some passengers panicked, but we were reassured by the technical crew and security officers that we would continue with the journey after the problem is fixed," said one passenger by the name Maxwell Onyango.
He said the second coach after the engine derailed but was brought back on track by the engineers who were on board.
Tired passengers were allowed to spend the night in the train while others were accommodated in a bus at the parking lot.
Travelers who were still stranded at the station early Wednesday morning expressed disappointment over the train incident, which they said had ruined their travel plans.
Among them was 54-year-old Truphena Adhiambo whose family lives in Chulaimbo, Kisumu County.
“I had expected to arrive home at 8pm. But that never came to be. We were stranded in Muhoroni for more than three hours,” she said.
She said her family got worried on learning through social media that the train had developed a technical problem.
She lamented the 16-hour hour journey that left the travelers tired. Having to spend the night at the station only worsened the situation.
The Kisumu Railway Station.
Photo credit: Rushdie Oudia | Nation Media Group
“When I boarded the train in Nairobi at 6am on Tuesday, I had expected to be in Kisumu in the next 12 hours. It feels like I have been on the road for 24 hours. My children were so worried. It was already late when we arrived in Kisumu so they advised me to spend the night at the station," she said.
Another traveler, Mr Ferdinand Oluoch, who was travelling to Asembo, Siaya County, boarded the train in Nakuru.
Despite the incident, he said he plans to travel back to Nairobi by train on December 26.
Meanwhile, it remains unclear whether Kenya Railways will still be making the return trip to Nairobi this Sunday.
An earlier schedule had indicated that the train was fully booked for the festive season and would be travelling back on Wednesday morning.
However, travelers who tried to make bookings for the trip were informed that it had been cancelled.
Confirming the incident on their official Twitter page, Kenya Railways Corporation said that the train had developed a slight hitch following the heavy rains in Muhoroni.
“We wish to inform the public that the Kisumu-bound train encountered a slight hitch occasioned by the heavy rains that earlier pounded the Muhoroni area. The issue has since been sorted out and the train is already on the way to Kisumu. We sincerely apologize to our customers for the inconvenience caused as a result,” the tweet read.
Kenya Railways Managing Director Philip Mainga blamed the mishap on heavy rains in Muhoroni, Miwani and Kibos area, which he said, affected the captain's visibility of the track.
"Some parts of the railway line was flooded and the visibility was bad, leading to one of the wheels of the coaches to derail, but it has been rerailed and on its way to the station,” said Mr Mainga shortly after 10pm.
Muhoroni Deputy Sub County Commander Mr Zephaniah Kamuren said that none of the passengers sustained injuries during the incident and all arrived in Kisumu safely.
