Kenya Railways suspends commuter train service amid heavy rainfall

The Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) on Wednesday announced the suspension of commuter train services over ongoing heavy rainfall.

KRC in a public notice said the downpour had affected railway lines.

“We wish to notify members of the public that commuter train services have been temporarily suspended due to the ongoing heavy rains that have affected the rail lines. We are compelled to take these precautionary measures because the safety of our customers is always of paramount importance to us,” the state corporation said.

“We will advise you once normal services resume.”

Kenya Railway’s commuter train ferries commuters to and from the Nairobi city centre daily across five routes; Embakasi, Syokimau, Limuru, Lukenya and Ruiru.

Most of Kenya is experiencing heavy downpours in the wake of the long-rains season which is expected to last until June, according to the Meteorological Department.

In Nairobi, heavy rains on Tuesday night saw two trees in the city's central business district fall, disrupting traffic flow on Wednesday morning.

The overnight rains also caused havoc in the residential districts of Mathare, Thika, Parklands, Imaara Daima, and Lang’ata Road, among others, as houses were submerged in floods.

Transport paralysed on Eastern bypass near Kamakis as floods wreak havoc in Nairobi pic.twitter.com/HRjKjfYyBm

In the city’s southern environment of Kitengela, the main road to Nairobi, Kitegela Road, was closed after River Athi broke its banks.  

Traffic was diverted east of Nairobi to Makadara Road.