Train ride a mixed bag in terms of expectation and reality

Passengers inside a train on the standard gauge railway on its maiden trip from Mombasa to Nairobi on May 31, 2016. PHOTO | AGGREY MUTAMBO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • It was an enjoyable experience compared to using buses.
  • The termini are world-class, well-lit and spacious, though at one, I saw a fellow passenger in the washroom soap himself only to realise there was no water!

When I recently boarded Madaraka Express to Mombasa, it was on a whim, and a fulfilment of a commitment I had made that I would grab the opportunity as soon as it presented itself. It turned out to be a mixed bag in terms of expectation and reality.

First, there is nothing first class about the train’s first class. You get some little extra legroom, a pullout table you can place your book or food on and, in the cabin, you are fewer at 72 passengers. In my view, it does not account for the price differential with economy.

When it came to scrambling for the train through the gates, it was every man for himself and the devil took the hindmost. Once inside the train, I expected the impeccably uniformed hostesses to be strutting around the cabin, asking us in impeccable English: “And what will you have for breakfast, good Sir?” or “Anything I can do to make your journey more comfortable?” Well, not these hostesses. They were just hanging around the space between cabins looking generally bored.

SLOW DUO

The scruffy-looking, ill-uniformed duo pushing the food trolley were some of the slowest I have ever encountered. They arrived where I was seated about halfway through the 4.5-hour journey. The sandwich they served was good though but the tea was tepid. They gave me a bill for it!

I could not fail to compare the journey with one I took from London to Edinburgh, Scotland, some years back, a journey of 640km and which cost me about Sh20,000 return.

The journey to Scotland, albeit expensive, was idyllic from the moment one left London, with rolling fields of wheat, cattle fodder, forests and meadows along the entire line. And the train crew served good food.

For the trip to Mombasa, all one sees is the dry savannah and rather miserable hovels dotting the entire route. The saving grace is the journey through the Tsavo: it is simply amazing, watching herds of elephants barely a stone’s throw away from the train. Tsavo should be the train’s major selling point.

MTITO ANDEI

The train stops in Mtito Andei to let the one from Mombasa pass. Coming back to Nairobi, we stopped again, this time for the train heading to Mombasa. Why only us, we asked?

The cabin purser told us that we had stopped to pick some engineers. That was ok with me. Then, about half an hour later, we stopped again. Somebody asked the purser what was happening. He informed us that we had stopped to pick some Kenya Railways staff. And this was supposed to be an express train? This is how things start going downhill.

“Madaraka Express will soon become a matatu, picking up passengers wherever they may be waiting along the railway line,” I said loudly.

All in all, it was an enjoyable experience compared to taking buses. The termini are world-class, well-lit and spacious, though at the Nairobi terminus, I saw a fellow passenger in the washroom soap himself only to realise there was no water!

Mutahi Mureithi is a communications consultant.