Passengers play scrabble on a train of Kenya's Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), on June 2, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Teng)
NAIROBI, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) train transported 132,208 passengers between Kenya's capital Nairobi and the port city of Mombasa over the festive season, the operator said on Wednesday evening.
According to Africa Star Railway Operation Company Limited that operates the modern train dubbed Madaraka Express, there was a 40 percent increase in the number of bookings during 2018 festive season as compared to the same period in 2017.
Passenger revenue was 43.76 million Kenyan shillings (430,000 U.S. dollars) during 2018 festive season, an increase of 350,000 dollars in the same period of the previous year, said the SGR operator.
It said that measures were adopted to facilitate smooth movement of passengers from mid-December 2018 to the early January as Kenyans and foreign visitors trooped to the resort city of Mombasa to celebrate the festive season.
Performers pose for photos at Nairobi Terminus of the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, May 31, 2017. (Xinhua/Chen Cheng)
The SGR operator added four economy class coaches to the passenger trains to help cope with the surge in the number of travelers ahead of the festive season.
"The company also organized young employees to serve as passenger service volunteers daily," said the operator.
President Uhuru Kenyatta created a frenzy when he travelled to Mombasa on Dec. 23 using the SGR train and hailed the positive impact it has created in the country's economy since its launch on May 31, 2017.