Kenyatta made the commitment to completing a commuter rail connection to east Africa’s largest airport after touring Nairobi Central station with French president Mr Emanuel Marcon, who is making a state visit to Kenya.

Macron says France and Kenya have signed deals worth €3bn during his visit and Kenyatta says the airport rail link will be completed in partnership with a French consortium.

“A properly functioning urban commuter rail system and Bus Rapid Transit system in our cities, particularly here in Nairobi, will completely transform the lives of millions of urban dwellers as well as make Nairobi a wonderful experience for tourists and visitors,” Kenyatta says. “Our target is to have 500,000 urban commuters moving freely daily within the next 12 months. This number will grow to over a million commuters daily within the next five years.”

Kenya’s Ministry of Transport recently concluded an agreement to acquire 11 metre-gauge DMUs from Mallorca to increase capacity on the Nairobi Commuter Rail network.

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