Kenya Railways, bus company adjust plans after school reopening date changed

Kenya Railways has offered to extend the validity of tickets, while the Modern Coast Express bus says journeys can be rescheduled.

The Kenya Railways Corporation has offered to extend the validity of tickets purchased by students and parents for travel between April 29 and May 5, following the postponement of the schools' reopening day.

The Ministry of Education pushed the date for students to return to school for the second term due to the heavy rains and flash floods that have resulted in death, displacement and mass property destruction.

"We wish to notify members of the public that ... all student tickets purchased for travel between Monday and Friday, aboard the Madaraka Express, will remain open for use from Monday, May 6, to Friday, May 10, 2024. Please note that this extension only applies to students and their accompanying guardians," the KRC said in a statement.

At the same time, parents and students who had booked advance tickets to Mombasa via the Modern Coast Express bus, but who will not be travelling, can reschedule their journeys.

In a statement, the bus company asked travellers to open their tickets three hours before departure at no cost.

"Owing to the postponement of the school opening dates by the Ministry of Education due to heavy rains across Kenya, parents and guardians who had advance bookings are hereby requested to open their tickets to be rescheduled to the next travel date," the company said.

"The safety of your child is the government's top priority and as such, they are deploying very expeditious measures in keeping with road safety. Sorry for any inconveniences this may have caused to your plans."

On Sunday night, the Ministry of Education released a statement announcing a week-long delay in the opening of schools as floods have cut off key roads and left many schools submerged in water.

This will allow relevant agencies and stakeholders to put in place measures to mitigate the adverse effects of the rains and provide regular updates on all developments concerning the education sector.

The Kenya Meteorological Department has cautioned that the heavy rains will persist in the highlands east and west of the Rift Valley, the Lake Victoria basin, the Rift Valley, the South-East lowlands and North-Western Kenya.

According to the forecast, the North Eastern regions of Marsabit, Mandera, Wajir, Garissa and Isiolo counties would experience sunny intervals on Monday morning, and cloudy nights, with maximum temperatures reaching 36 degrees Celsius.

On Tuesday, the counties may have a chance of rain over a few places in the morning, sunny intervals in the afternoon and cloudy evenings. The same will be experienced on Wednesday, with temperatures rising to 37 degrees Celsius.

In Nairobi, rains were expected over a few places on Monday morning and showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon, with temperatures getting to a maximum of 27 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 12 degrees Celsius.

Similar weather will be experienced on Tuesday and Wednesday, with temperatures rocking 28 degrees Celsius on the two days and lows of 11 degrees Celsius on Wednesday night.

The Ministry of Health has called for vigilance as the heavy rains increase the risk of respiratory illnesses due to the cold, and waterborne diseases from flooding.