Nairobi has approved the development of two metro railway lines in an ambitious plan aimed at transforming public transport and reducing the hours commuters lose in traffic every day.
The first phase of the Nairobi Metropolitan Mass Rapid Transit System will include a 10-kilometre underground circular line serving the central business district and a 13-kilometre Eastlands Line connecting the city centre with Nairobi’s northeastern neighbourhoods.
The underground line will have eight stations positioned around the city centre. The Eastlands corridor, meanwhile, will be constructed mainly as an elevated railway, allowing trains to operate above existing roads and densely developed neighbourhoods.
If the current schedule is maintained, both lines could begin carrying passengers by 2034.
Project to cost approximately US$7.8 billion
Phase I is expected to require an investment of approximately US$7.8 billion—equivalent to more than Sh1 trillion at current exchange rates.
About US$6.5 billion has been allocated to infrastructure development, while approximately US$900 million would be used to purchase trains and related rolling stock.
The metro is expected to be delivered through a public-private partnership involving the government and private investors.
Revenue would not come from passenger fares alone. The project also plans to generate income through shops and other commercial spaces inside stations, property development around metro stops and advertising.
Such developments could gradually turn stations into commercial and residential centres while encouraging more compact growth around Nairobi’s public transport network.
Construction expected to begin in 2030
Detailed planning and technical preparations are expected to continue until 2027. Procurement is scheduled to begin in 2028, followed by the start of major construction works around 2030.
The two lines are expected to open in 2034, although the timeline will depend on financing, procurement and the completion of technical and environmental studies.
The Nairobi County Government formally launched the programme on July 21, 2026, in collaboration with the Office of the President.
Governor Johnson Sakaja described the approval as an important transition from years of planning to the implementation of a transport system capable of addressing Nairobi’s congestion crisis.
He said commuters, particularly those travelling between Eastlands and the city centre, continue to lose valuable working and family time in traffic.
Nairobi commuters lose up to three hours in traffic
County estimates indicate that commuters currently spend between two and a half and three hours in traffic every day.
Without a major public transport intervention, average daily journey times could increase by another 30 minutes by 2030 as Nairobi’s population, vehicle numbers and travel demand continue to grow.
The planned metro would provide a high-capacity alternative to private vehicles, buses and matatus operating on some of the city’s most congested roads.
An underground loop could make it easier to travel between important locations within the CBD without adding more vehicles to surface streets. The elevated Eastlands Line would serve one of Nairobi’s most densely populated commuter corridors.
However, the project remains at an early stage. Securing investors, managing construction in built-up areas, acquiring any required land and integrating the metro with existing matatu, bus and commuter-rail services will be crucial to its success.
Phase II to reach Westlands, Ngong Road and Lang’ata Road
Design work has already started for a second phase of the metropolitan railway programme.
Phase II is expected to extend metro services towards Westlands, Ngong Road and Lang’ata Road, connecting more residential, commercial and employment centres to the network.
The latest approval revives an ambition that Nairobi has pursued for decades. Proposals for a mass rapid transit system appeared in the city’s master plans as early as 1948, but previous concepts did not advance to construction.
For Nairobi commuters, the 2034 opening date remains several years away. Nevertheless, the approval represents one of the most significant attempts yet to move the capital beyond its heavy dependence on congested roads and towards a modern mass-transit network.
