Madaraka Express timetable, stations and the link train to the terminus

Inter-County, 8:00 am. The stopping service. Calls at Mariakani, Miasenyi, Voi, Mtito Andei, Kibwezi, Emali and Athi River. This is the one to take if you are travelling to an intermediate town rather than end to end.

Afternoon Express, 3:00 pm. Stops at Voi only. From Nairobi it reaches Voi at 6:48 pm; from Mombasa it reaches Voi at 4:38 pm.

Night Express, 10:00 pm. Also stops at Voi only. From Nairobi it reaches Voi at 2:05 am; from Mombasa at 11:45 pm.

All three depart both termini at the same time, so an 8:00 am train leaves Nairobi and Mombasa simultaneously.

Two different things run on this line and they are easy to confuse.

The Suswa Leisure Train runs Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays between Nairobi Terminus and Suswa in Narok County, calling at Ongata Rongai, Ngong and Maai Mahiu. It departs Nairobi Terminus at 08:50 and reaches Suswa at 11:10.

The Madaraka Express Commuter Service runs Monday to Friday between Ngong, through Ongata Rongai, to Nairobi Terminus and back. That is the commuter product, not the leisure one.

One caution on the published return time: the metickets FAQ gives the Suswa return as departing 4:05 pm to arrive in Nairobi at 6:10 am. An evening departure arriving the following morning does not match a two-hour journey in the other direction, so one of those figures is a typo on Kenya Railways' page. Confirm the return time when you book rather than planning an evening around it.

Kenya Railways asks passengers to arrive no later than 60 minutes before departure for document checks and security. Then two hard deadlines follow:

• Final boarding call: 11 minutes before departure.
• Platform gates close: 10 minutes before departure.

To get onto the platform you hold the QR code on your ticket against the scanner at the entry gate.

The termini are out of town: Nairobi Terminus is in Syokimau and Mombasa Terminus is in Miritini. Kenya Railways runs a link train to both.

From Nairobi Central Station: 6:40 am for the 8:00 am Inter-County, 12:50 pm for the 3:00 pm Express, 8:10 pm for the 10:00 pm Night train.

Back from Nairobi Terminus to Nairobi Central: around 4:00 am for arrivals off the night train, 2:30 pm off the Inter-County, 8:30 pm off the afternoon Express.

From Mombasa Railway Station: 6:25 am, 12:35 pm and 7:20 pm. Arrivals into Mombasa connect at 4:10 am, 2:25 pm and 9:00 pm.

Two Kenya Railways pages give the earliest Nairobi-bound link connection as 3:50 am and 4:00 am respectively. Treat it as around 4:00 am and do not cut it fine.

Two termini and seven intermediate stations on the Mombasa line: Mombasa, Mariakani, Miasenyi, Voi, Mtito Andei, Kibwezi, Emali, Athi River, Nairobi.

Four more on the Suswa line: Ongata Rongai, Ngong, Maai Mahiu, Suswa.

Stations carry cafés, restaurants and shops, lifts, escalators and step-free access, a passenger lobby, rest rooms and self-service machines for printing tickets.