The Kenya Railway Corporation will kick off a feasibility study for the rehabilitation and expansion of Nairobi Commuter Rail Network under the World Bank-supported Kenya Urban Mobility Improvement Project (KUMIP) in April.
The project seeks to expand the rail network from 35 to 53 operational stations with key transit hubs and supporting infrastructure to encourage public transport usage.The Nairobi Commuter Rail (NCR) Network has a network coverage of 165km but has aging facilities and infrastructure inadequacies.The feasibility study and preparation phase for KUMIP is expected to take 24 months from April 2025.
Last month, Kenya Railway’s Project Team Leader, John Maina said that the first phase will target the highly-trafficked Nairobi-Ruiru route which will be extended to Thika Railway Station to meet growing commuter demand.
“The extension of this route will significantly ease congestion on both the rail and road networks, addressing one of the busiest commuter corridors in the region,” said Maina .
Following this initial expansion, subsequent phases will focus on upgrading and operationalizing additional NCR routes including the Nairobi-Ngong and Nairobi-Kiambu Town lines among others. The project will also focus on modernizing ticketing systems, a priority area highlighted by Akiko Kishiue of the World Bank.
“The Government has applied for financing from the World Bank towards the cost of the Kenya Urban Mobility Improvement Project, and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services begining 21st April 2025. The duration of the assignment is 24 months” said Managing Director Kenya Railways in a public notice.
According to a public notice by the Managing Director of Kenya Railways, the scope of the consultancy work will include undertaking a feasibility Study including Preliminary Engineering to assess viability for the upgrading and/or rehabilitation of the network, as well as development of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) facilities and access roads to commuter stations.
Other expectations also include preparation of the engineering requirement for design and build bidding documents for contracting for the entire commuter NCR network, access facilities to commuter stations, and related infrastructure facilities for selected stations along the Thika line.