Kenya - Ruiru commuter service resumes

[John Ashworth]

1. Train service resumes

By Brian Adero
The Standard (print edition) Wednesday 5th March 2008

Rift Valley Railways (RVR) has announced the resumption of its Dandora-Kahawa-Ruiru commuter train servcie from today.

The servcie was suspended last week following unruly conduct of some passengers including harrassment of RVR workers.

Announcing the lifting of the ban, Transport Permanent Secretary, Mr Gerishon Ikiara, said the resumption would be temporary depending on the commuter's [sic] behaviour.

"We are going to increase police patrol at the picking and dropping stations for anybody found to be violating the rules. There will be no more hanging and climbing on top of wagons," he said.

Ikiara said the decision was reached after a meeting with the representative of the commuters and the RVR management.

Last week, rowdy youths briefly held hostage the RVR train in an apparent protest against a shooting incident along the route.

The PS was speaking during the intergovernmental meeting on transport where he said the transport sector has normalised.

2. Firm to resume urban commuter train service

Daily Nation (print edition) Wednesday 5th March 2008

Rift Valley Railways is expected to resume train operations on the Nairobi-Ruiru urban commuter route this morning, Transport permanent secretary Gerishon Ikiara announced yesterday. However, the PS warned that the services would be suspended again if cases of "indiscipline" by the commuters were reported. RVR suspended operations on the route two weeks ago after increased cases of passengers hanging on the trains. A stray bullet fired by Kenya Railways Police on a routine mission to arrest passengers hanging precariously on the trains is said to have hit a fleeing Dandora resident a day before the operations were suspended. "The trains will now be guarded by security officers who will supervise the boarding and alighting of commuters," said the PS>