Kenyans rush to book SGR tickets after Covid-19 restrictions lifted
Travellers from Narobi arrive at the Mombasa SGR terminus.
Nairobi,
Kenyans rushed to book the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) train that shuttles between the capital Nairobi and the coastal city of Mombasa ahead of the resumption of the service on Monday after a one-month hiatus.
The government on Saturday lifted the restriction of movement in and out of Nairobi following a month of lockdown in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19, thus, allowing resumption of the train service.
Citizens jammed the online booking train service, taking up space until May 7 a few hours after the restriction was lifted.
On Sunday, Kenya Railways announced in a statement that it will resume the passenger train service on Monday.
"The schedule remains unchanged with the intercounty train departing at 8am, and the express train at 3 pm and night train at 10pm," said the corporation, adding customers with unutilized tickets are allowed to book another day of travel.
Kenya Railways informed travelers that it had waived the rescheduling ticket fee purchased before May 2.
Some 720,000 travellers used the SGR train in 2020, down from 1.59 million in 2019 due to Covid-19 restrictions.
