Kenya - Train services halted after youths stone crew

[John Ashworth]

Train services halted after youths stone crew

Rift Valley Railways yesterday suspended operations on the Dandora-Kahawa-Ruiru urban commuter train service.

RVR managing director Roy Puffett said the firm reached the decision after rowdy youths yesterday morning breifly held the RVR train to protest against a fatal shooting incident on Monday evening.

A stray bullet fired by Kenya Railways Police on a routine mission to arrest passengers hanging precariously on a commuter train is said to have hit a fleeing Dandora resident.

Yesterday the youths climbed onto the coaches and stoned the RVR crew and passengers.

They were, however, swiftly dispersed by riot police. No one was injted during the incident.

"As part of our obligation to preserve Railways assets and to avoid exposing the lives of our passengers and crew to unnecessary danger, we are left with no choice but to proactively take this decision on a temporary basis," Mr Puffett said.

"We regret the incident last evening and condemn the attempted attack this morning, which prompts us to temporarily suspend services on the Dandora-Kahawa-Ruiru route," Puffett said.

Nail the culprits

Following increased cases of passengers hanging on the city commuter train seervices, Kenya Railways Police officers have beefed up surveillance to nail the culprits as a remedy.

The indefinite suspension has been attributed to underlying security concerns on the busy route, which led to a fatal shooting incident at the Dandora Halt.

From Daily Nation (print edition), Wednesday 27th February 2008