The county of Nairobi has approved the development of two metro lines, one underground and one elevated, with completion targeted for 2035, according to railwaygazette.com.

The 10 km long circular underground route will feature eight stations and serve Nairobi’s central business district. A separate 13 km long, mostly elevated Eastlands Line will run to the northeast suburbs.

Both lines are planned as part of Phase I of the Nairobi Metropolitan Mass Rapid Transit System. The programme is being developed in close collaboration with the president’s office and was formally launched by the Nairobi county authority on July 21.

The project will be delivered through a public-private partnership. Total investment for Phase I is estimated at US$7.8bn, including US$6.5bn for infrastructure and US$900m for rolling stock.

Non-farebox revenues are envisaged from station retail spaces, real estate development around stations, and advertising, among other sources.

Detailed planning is expected to conclude by 2027, with procurement beginning in 2028. Construction is expected to start by 2030, and opening is foreseen by 2034.

County governor Sakaja Johnson said the approval ‘is a definitive shift from planning to execution in solving Nairobi’s decade-long urban congestion challenge. For far too long, the people of Nairobi and particularly our hardworking commuters from Eastlands and across the metropolitan area have lost precious hours in traffic jams that stall our economic momentum’.

According to the county authority, commuters currently spend between 2 h 30 min and 3 h in traffic each day. Average journey times are projected to increase by a further 30 min by 2030 unless external intervention occurs.

Plans for a mass rapid transit system serving Nairobi first appeared in the city’s master plan as early as 1948.

Design work for Phase II of the programme is currently underway. This would cover extensions to Westlands, Ngong Road, and Lang’ata Road.