Mombasa rail to improve cargo and commuter transport
Business
By
Philip Mwakio
| Sep 18, 2025
President William Ruto commissions the Mombasa Commuter Rail Services, on September 17, 2025. He was accompanied by Deputy President Kithure Kindki and Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir. [PCS]
Travellers and residents of Mombasa have every reason to smile after the launch of Mombasa Commuter Rail Services (MCRS) which is expected to improve transport within the city’s logistics hubs.
The rehabilitation of the 13.8-kilometre metre-gauge railway will also reduce congestion in logistics hubs of Changamwe and Miritini, where trucks pick up and drop off containers.
The MCRS will also reduce the cost of commuting from the city to Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Miritini, from Sh300 to Sh50, said President William Ruto during the launch.
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The Head of State termed the new commuter rail service as both timely and vital solution to some of the city’s most pressing challenges.
"For far too long, passengers commuting between Mombasa’s Central Business District (CBD) and the SGR terminus have endured congestion, delays and the burden of unreliable road traffic,’’ he said.
Rehabilitation works of the dilapidated metre-gauge railway measuring 13.8 kilometres from Kilometre Zero in the central area of Mombasa to Miritini, together with the construction of a new 2.8-kilometre link to the SGR terminus, according to the Head of State, have finally closed a gap that separated the city and the rail.
"This link matters because it provides the much-needed first- and last-mile connection for commuters, visitors and tourists alike. With a daily capacity of up to 5000 passengers, it will ease pressure on roads and enhance the commuting experience while making the Madaraka Express more accessible and convenient for all," he said.
Kenya Railways Corporation chairman Abdi Bare Duale said the train will make stops at Miritini, Changamwe West, Changamwe East, Shimanzi, Mazeras, and the Mombasa CBD.
Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir reiterated the government’s commitment to improve public transport, adding that upon full operation, it will be able to haul approximately 5000 commuters daily.
He said that the Sh4.2 billion project completed in August involved the construction of new passenger stations in Mombasa town and Miritini, as well as the improvement of 16.8 kilometres of the metre gauge railway and the construction of a rail bridge along Makupa Causeway.
He declared that the government would duly compensate communities affected by the rail construction in the Miritini area after it released Sh 2.1 billion to the National Lands Commission (NLC) for land compensation in Miritini, Chanmwe West, and East, respectively.
Governor Abdulswamad Nassir and Mvita MP Soud Machele urged the President to consider having local youths employed to work in the new project.
Nassir said that the county administration is working closely with Kenya Railways on a special traffic management plan in both Kilometre Zero and Miritini to control vehicle traffic using the new commuter service.
Tourism players led by the chairman of the Mombasa Tourism Council (MTC), Dr Sam Ikwaye, welcomed the development and operationalisation of the new rail commuter service, terming it one more critical infrastructure in Mombasa aimed at easing access to the touristic and port city.
“We hope this will transform Mombasa, which Dongo Kundu and the direct bypass to Kwale have affected,” Ikwaye said.