2017 ~ ERASMUS -' le navigateur' ," see what i saw "

Well its really a great milestone to the Kenyan railway transportation of having this new Standard gauge railway (SGR) this year .For only about four hours at a distance of 120km per hour and in a cost of 700 Kenyan shillings (16,000Tsh) you can now travel between Mombasa and Nairobi, which save a great time of travelling compares to the "Old" train that took about nine to twelve hours.

Nairobi Terminal in Syokimau - Photo by Erasmus K ,EK Studios

My journey to Mombasa started in Nairobi on the 7th of july this year ,I needed to wake up very early on that day so i can be on time at the train station ,purchasing my ticket as well as escaping the traffic jams in Nairobi that usually starts at around 06:00am in the morning .

Previously i thought the train station is in Nairobi city center where the "Old" train used to depart, i was wrong !!! Thanks to my friend Denis, a former JKUAT student (Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and technology ) for his help and direction on getting to the station of this new sgr train.

."It's in Syokimau " Denis said , " You can take a matatu (local transport here in Kenya) from town to the station and is only around 50 bob ( 50 Kenyan shilings ) ",he was a great help .

Nairobi Terminal in Syokimau - Photo by Erasmus K ,EK Studios

I arrived at the new Nairobi terminal in Syokimau around 06:30am in the morning, was a bit cold morning that day but gladly i had my jacket with me .Immediately i went straight to the booking office in the terminal ready to purchase my ticket .

I was on time and thanks to my another friend and brother, Etiene whom i stayed with in a place called Mariapolis piero center in Juja ,Nairobi along with other friends for taking me to the station with his car so early in that day .

" Erasmus my friend by 06:00am here will be a jam you can't be there on time we will leave home at around 05:30" Etiene said ,he even brought two piece of cake to eat as a breakfast on my way to Mombasa ,he was so kind . I was very excited for the trip and was telling my self " I think i am the first Tanzanian to be this new sgr train here in Kenya this year ,lets see :-) " .

Ready to board the train that also known as Madaraka Express at Nairobi Terminal in Syokimau - Photo by Erasmus K ,EK Studios

The train departed at 09:00am sharp ,before the departure we passed through several security check points inside the terminal similar check points like in International airports in which was really good and interesting to see at the same time as this was really different compares to some other train stations i have been before in Europe ,Asia and here in Africa ,this was really good .

Passengers boarding the train in Nairobi - Photo by Erasmus K ,EK Studios

Photo by Erasmus K ,EK Studios

Far view of the new Standard gauge rail in Nairobi - Photo by Erasmus K ,EK Studios

Boarding the train - Photo by Erasmus K ,EK Studios

Passengers enjoying the fast ride of the train, inside Madaraka express in route to Mombasa - Photo by Erasmus K ,EK Studios

Quickly in the train i manage to have some new friends among them is Mr. Humphrey Abisai ,one of the employees of the Kenyan railway authority who lead a team to Survey on areas to improve in this new established Standard gauge railway .He was so kind and we talked a lot along way about how Kenyan railway authority has been doing to ensure they improve their services and meet their customers needs .

Mr.Humphrey Abisai far right at the train's restaurant ,

" We are going to take all your suggestions for improvement and we will work on them very soon ," Humphrey said to one of the passenger he met on the train.

Mr. Humphrey Abisai ( right) inside Madaraka express in route to Mombasa pose in a picture with one of his passengers ,behind is the view of the first class cabin of the train - Photo by Erasmus K ,EK Studios

Inside the train you will be saved with breakfast,snacks or drinks of your choice with very charming ,well equipped and helpful train attendants.

Inside Economy class of the Madaraka express - Photo by Erasmus K ,EK Studios

Having breakfast while crossing Tsavo national park ,far left passengers enjoying the view of animals at the park - Photo by Erasmus K ,EK Studios

Selfie moments while passing through Tsavo national park - Photo by Erasmus K ,EK Studios

The new SGR Locomotive at Mtito Andei train station - Photo by Erasmus K ,EK Studios

Old vs New rail ; far left is view of a cargo train ran at the old railway at Mtito Andei - Photo by Erasmus K ,EK Studios

View of the Old train station and train yard in Nairobi city center - Photo by Erasmus K ,EK Studios

It was a great and interesting trip, on the way we passed through Nairobi and Tsavo National park (Kenyans largest national park ) and luckily it was on day time,we managed to see number of animals like elephants and zebras .

I can say it's a great step done by the Kenyan government establishing this new standard gauge railway as the first of its kind in East Africa to boost its economy and railway transportation though there is still some more improvement need to be done in areas of ticketing like thinking of implementing an online ticketing machines or systems that can be done by either MPesa ,VISA or Master cards to avoid long queue in the terminals in day of travelling as well as improving means of transportation between both terminals in Mombasa and Nairobi for the train passengers once they arrive ,since the current location of the terminals are not close to the city center .