Kenya Railways hikes fares over high fuel prices
The Kenya Railways Corporation has announced that it will hike fares for passenger trains over the high cost of fuel.
In a statement, the corporation said it will start hiking fares from January 1, 2023.
The affected services will include Madaraka Express passenger service, Madaraka Express commuter service, Nairobi Commuter rail service, Kisumu Safari train and Nanyuki Safari train.
"This increase is informed by changes in the energy and petroleum sector where prices of fuel have significantly increased thus affecting the cost of our operations. The new fares come into effect on January 1, 2024. Customers making advance purchases for the Madaraka Express Passenger Service will notice the adjusted fares as of November 1, 2023, to take into account the advance ticket purchasing window of 60 days," Kenya Railways stated.
In the adjusted fares, a first-class trip on the Madaraka Express to Mombasa will cost Ksh4,500 while the economy class will cost Ksh1,500.
The fare between Nairobi and Suswa will be capped at Ksh250.
Children aged between three and 11 travelling with adults will pay half the fare while children aged over 11 years will pay the full fare. Only children below three years old will be exempted from paying.
Fuel prices
On October 14, 2023, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) increased the prices of Super Petrol by Ksh5.72 per litre, Diesel by Ksh4.48 per litre and Kerosene by Ksh2.45 per litre.
Following the increment, the price of Super Petrol hit a new high of Ksh217.36, Diesel hit Ksh205.47 whereas the price of a litre of Kerosene hit Ksh205.06.
According to EPRA, the fuel prices would have increased by Ksh8.79 for a litre of Petrol, Ksh16.12 for diesel and Ksh12.05 for a litre of kerosene if not for the stabilisation which will be funded by the Petroleum Development Levy (PDL).
