Nairobi railway station is a railway station located in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

, Kenya. The station is on the

metre gauge Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...

Uganda Railway The Uganda Railway was a metre-gauge railway system and former British state-owned railway company. The line linked the interiors of Uganda and Kenya with the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa in Kenya. After a series of mergers and splits, the lin ...

, and previously provided services to

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

three times per week. However, in 2017, the new Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway took over services to Mombasa, starting from a new

Nairobi Terminus Nairobi Terminus is a railway station on the Mombasa–Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) located in Syokimau, just south of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. Two passenger trains leave the station everyday, an inter-county train that stops at all ...

Syokimau Syokimau is a residential area in the west of Machakos County, Kenya, just south of Nairobi and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. The place is named after the legendary Akamba medicine woman Prophetess Syokimau. Syokimau Prophesied the comin ...

, 20km from Nairobi CBD.

History

Train at the old Nairobi Railway stations

The station was built in 1899 and saw structural additions throughout the 20th century. It is on the site of the first stone building in Nairobi in 1904, which was a Catholic church. That church now meets at the

Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Family The Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Family is a Catholic Church Cathedral and Basilica dedicated to the Holy Family located around City Square in Nairobi, the Capital City of the Republic of Kenya. The Basilica is the seat of the Archdiocese of ...

.Kenya: centenary celebrations at Nairobi's Basilica
2004, Independent Catholic News, Retrieved 28 October 2015 When the railway connection between Kenya and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

closed in 2006, rail services ceased to operate between the two countries. A bus route, however, provides international transport between Nairobi and

Arusha Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District Council (2012 census). Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern bran ...

, the journey taking approximately five hours. In 2012, the Kenyan government opened a new metro rail service from Nairobi station to the suburb of

. Syokimau will get a few trains every day, although there was criticism that a ticket would cost more than the average daily wage.Traffic-clogged Nairobi opens commuter rail route
16 November 2012, CapitalFM, Retrieved 29 October 2015

Museum

In 1971, the

East African Railways and Harbours Corporation The East African Railways and Harbours Corporation (EAR&H) is a defunct company that operated railways and harbours in East Africa from 1948 to 1977. It was formed in 1948 for the new East African High Commission by merging the Kenya and Ugand ...

established the Nairobi Railway Museum to preserve and display the history of rail travel in East Africa. The museum is connected to the main line by rail, allowing steam excursions on restored locomotives.

References

External links

{{commonscat-inline, Nairobi railway station Railway stations in Kenya Railway stations opened in 1899 Buildings and structures in Nairobi Transport in Nairobi