Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia has assured railway commuters of their safety as he inspected the Nairobi Railway Station and the Railway bus terminus to check steps being taken to ward off the coronavirus.
The move by CS Macharia comes after Kenya Railways released a raft of measures to keep at ease the commuters using the Madaraka Express and Nairobi Commuter Rail services.
“We shall put all measures possible to make sure that the public who uses the public transport system are properly protected,” the CS said on Monday after witnessing the fumigation process at the rail station.
In a statement, Kenya Railways advised all passengers using their services to arrive at the stations early enough to comply with the necessary sanitary procedures.
All passengers accessing the services of the rail operator will be provided with soap, water, and sanitisers that are readily available at all stations and inside the trains.
The CS also said no passenger will be allowed to board the trains without first sanitising their hands.
Further, he instructed the KR management to add 20 more water points where passengers can clean their hands even before using the sanitisers.
“The company is putting together a system for water so that even before passengers are sanitized they can wash their hands,” Macharia said.
Kenya Railways assured the public that all their passenger trains and coaches will undergo thorough cleaning after every trip.
However, he has asked the company to purchase more effective and efficient fumigating equipment given the station’s importance in serving both train and matatu passengers in the city.
“The commuter train brings close to 40,000 people every day then the same passengers get into the buses thus it’s very important to make sure all the guidelines have been adhered to,” Macharia added.
Macharia further asked matatu operators to comply with provided guidelines to minimise the spread of the Covid-19.
For effective compliance by the matatu industry, the traffic police and the National Safety and Transport Authority (NTSA) will check the vehicles on the road and those found in violation risk losing their licenses.
But a quick spot check at bus termini within Nairobi CBD told a different story, at the Ambassador bus terminus only the matatus plying the Utawala and Kawagware routes were availing sanitisers to their passengers.
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