Nanyuki Safari Train

Crosses the equator on its final approach to Nanyuki, where Mount Kenya’s 5,199 m massif fills the carriage windows.

Kenya Railways woke this 1930 settler branch from a long sleep in 2020, and its weekend train is now the cheapest safari in the highlands. Eight metre-gauge hours out of Nairobi, it climbs through Thika’s pineapple estates and the coffee towns of Murang’a, Sagana and Karatina, crossing the equator on the final approach. On a clear day Mount Kenya’s glaciated summit hangs above the plains for the last hour into Nanyuki.

Along the way

• Thika pineapple estates
• Murang’a coffee ridges
• Sagana and the Aberdare foothills
• Karatina market town
• Equator crossing before Nanyuki
• Mount Kenya massif

How this line was checked

• The 190 km this route shares with OpenStreetMap relation 2551184 is drawn from that relation's own nodes, thinned to within 39 m of them
• Checked against OpenStreetMap: the whole line lies on real track, a median 17 m from it
• The operator publishes this line's timetable: Kenya Railways — a place to look it up, not a check of our drawing
• Wikipedia has an article for this line
• See for yourself: open this line on the map with OpenStreetMap's own railway drawn underneath it

Questions and answers

How long is the Nanyuki Safari Train?

The Nanyuki Safari Train runs 237 km from Nairobi to Nanyuki.

How long does the Nanyuki Safari Train take?

The fastest scheduled journey is 7 h 30 min for the 237 km. That is an average of 32 km/h end to end. The line's top service speed is 65 km/h.

Who runs the Nanyuki Safari Train?

Kenya Railways, with Metre-gauge diesel with vintage coaches.

How old is the Nanyuki Safari Train?

The line has been in service since 1930. That is the year the atlas dates it from: for a modern brand running over an older railway, it is the railway's date, not the brand's.

How high does the Nanyuki Safari Train climb?

1,950 m above sea level at its highest point.

View on the world railway map →

Read more on Wikipedia ↗