Train review: This journey is like a wildlife safari for $10
MADARAKA EXPRESS SERVICE, NAIROBI TO VOI
THE JOURNEY
Kenya Railways’ Madaraka Express Service links Nairobi Terminus to the coastal Mombasa Terminus, with a stop en route at Voi, gateway to Tsavo East and Tsavo West national parks. The Standard Gauge Railway passes through a large tract of the park, and reaches Voi in three hours, 48 minutes at a maximum speed of 120 km/h.
Kenya Railways’ Madaraka Express Service.
THE CLASS
My First Class ticket affords me lounge access – essentially a partitioned waiting room – and priority boarding. The alternative is Economy Class, where spacious seats are grouped in fours around a central table.
CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS
About nine kilograms a passenger. Plans are afoot to electrify the line.
BOARDING
Allow plenty of time to navigate Nairobi’s traffic before passing through airport-level security screening, including the examination of bags by sniffer dogs and X-rays. The procedures are a reassuring response to the risk of terrorist attacks. Batteries and lighters aren’t allowed on board and will be confiscated before boarding. As a foreign traveller I’m asked to produce my passport before entering the gleaming, train-shaped terminus. Cafés do a brisk trade in the departure lounge, with waiters rushing orders to patrons as boarding is announced. Food can be taken on board. Carriage and seat numbers are clearly marked on the ticket, and there’s plenty of luggage storage above the seats.
THE SEAT
The seating - Nairobi to Voi.
Seats are arranged in a roomy 2-2 configuration. Strangely, consecutive seat numbers aren’t located next to one another; local travellers are happy to swap seats with those separated from their companions. There are no USB ports, but devices can be charged via the socket beside each window seat (be sure to bring an adaptor). Toilets are at either end of the carriage.
BAGGAGE
There are no baggage restrictions, but passengers are advised to bring what they can comfortably carry and lift into the overhead storage rack.
FOOD + DRINK
A smartly dressed attendant passes by intermittently with a food and drinks trolley; on offer are sandwiches, snacks, soft drinks, tea, coffee, Kenyan beer and a small selection of wine. Passengers can also order hot meals like bean or chicken stew with chapati. Kenyan shillings, US dollars and credit cards are accepted, though the latter might take a while to process.
ONE MORE THING
Financed by loans from China, the SGR was initially regarded with scepticism, but in the six years since its launch it’s been enthusiastically embraced as a faster, safer alternative to the road journey between Nairobi and Mombasa. The project also raised ire for its planned course through Nairobi National Park and along an existing transport corridor through Tsavo East and Tsavo West national parks. However, viaducts and other measures have helped preserve or recreate wildlife corridors.
THE VERDICT
Bright-liveried trains, sleek stations and prompt departures offer excellent value for money; one-way tickets are about $25 in First Class ticket and $10 in Economy Class. The game viewing is a highlight: elephants, zebras and giraffes are just some of the wildlife I spy from my window. On the return journey book a left-hand seat so you can watch the sun set over Mount Kilimanjaro.
OUR RATING OUT OF FIVE
★★★★
Catherine Marshall travelled as a guest of Bench Africa. See benchafrica.com
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