Kenya might be famous for its national parks and other wildlife areas, but perhaps more than any other country, it also offers ways to reach them by train, where you won’t just enjoy the benefits of access by rail. You will also get to enjoy watching some of the wildlife from your train window as you pass by!
🚂 Tsavo National Parks (East and West)
The SGR (new Standard Gauge Railway) stops at stations close to both Tsavo East and Tsavo West:
| 🛤️ Tsavo Area | 🚉 Nearby SGR Station | 🚐 Connection Type |
|---|---|---|
| Tsavo East National Park | Voi Station | Easy transfer by 4×4/safari vehicle into the park |
| Tsavo West National Park | Mtito Andei Station | Transfers arranged by lodge/tour operator |
So you can take the SGR from either Nairobi or Mombasa, hop off at Voi or Mtito Andei, and get picked up by a lodge or tour vehicle. Very popular for eco-tourists and budget-conscious travellers.
🕒 Journey Times
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The train from Nairobi to Voi takes about 3 h 50 m
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For Nairobi to Mtito Andei the fastest train time is around 2 h 50 m.
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For reference, the full SGR trip from Nairobi to Mombasa takes about 5-6 hours.
So if you fly into Mombasa and take the SGR northbound, you could arrive at Voi in less than 4 hours, then transfer by road into the park.
📅 Train Frequency
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There are typically two daily trains from Nairobi to Mombasa and vice-versa via Voi and Mtito Andei
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Therefore, you have a potentially very usable daily service. For safari logistics you’d want to pick the morning train so you arrive in good time for the park transfer.
✅ How this helps for your safari gateway through Nairobi or Mombasa
Because of the SGR’s relatively fast timetable, you can land at Nairobi or Mombasa, hop on the train or arrange a short road transfer, reaching either national park in far less time than it would take to drive all the way there from these two major gateway cities.
Note that both the main new standard gauge terminus railway stations in Nairobi and Mombasa are situated on the edge of the city, close to the main airports. Both have train services from the city centre to meet the long-distance express routes, and other taxis and buses are also widely available.
🚆 Mombasa → Voi / Mtito Andei
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From Mombasa to Voi: e.g., Inter-County train departs ~08:00 from Mombasa, arrives at Voi ~09:49–09:55
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From Mombasa to Mtito Andei: same service arrives ~11:18–11:21 at Mtito Andei.
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Journey from Mombasa → Voi can take about 1h 45m on faster services.
🚆 Nairobi → Voi / Mtito Andei
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From Nairobi to Voi: Example Inter-County train leaves ~08:00 from Nairobi, arrives around ~12:02–12:08 at Voi, and a second around 15:00 arriving ~18:48.
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From Nairobi to Mtito Andei: Same morning departure arrives around ~10:50–10:51.
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Journey time Nairobi → Mtito Andei: approx. 2h 50m
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Frequency: 3 times daily to Voi, daily to Mtito Andei
✅ Booking early is recommended for trains (Kenya Rail); verify departure times as they may differ each day.
Nanuki
The safari train to Nanyuki is a daytime narrow-gauge service, taking around 8 hours to traverse the full length of the journey, leaving Nairobi at 9 a.m. on Fridays and returning from Nanyuki at 9 a.m. on Sundays.
The Nanuki Safari Train is ideal for accessing Mount Kenya National Park and the spectacular scenery that comes from hiking around Africa’s second-highest peak after Kilimanjaro.
Kisumu
The train to Kisumu, on the eastern shores of Lake Victoria, currently operates as a weekend-only 12-hour overnight service on narrow-gauge tracks.
Perhaps this is one for the really hardcore train enthusiast, because the wildlife rewards at the other end aren’t as impressive as they are in the Tsavo National Parks or around Nanyuki. However, the trip could still be worth it if you are basing yourself in Nairobi and looking to do train excursions as a major part of your trip.
You’d need to combine two long weekends in order to visit Kisumu and Nanyuki by train. That would still give plenty of time in between to visit Tsavo and even perhaps head down to the coast around Mombasa.
Mount Suswa Conservancy
The new standard gauge railway from Mombasa to Nairobi currently extends from the Nairobi terminus as far as Suswa, where it can be used to access the Mount Suswa Conservancy.
This area is ideal for hiking, with its remarkable double caldera volcano. The plan is for this line to eventually continue on to Kisumu.
This new Suswa station is significantly closer to the Suswa village at the base of Mount Suswa than the original Suswa station on the narrow-gauge line towards Kampala and Kisumu.