Nairobi Metro Fantasy Map
When I posted my Kenya Railways map earlier today, I said that I was tempted to make a fantasy map for a Nairobi metro system. And I ended up cranking one out way more quickly than I expected to!
I’ve never actually been to Nairobi (and given the state of LGBT rights in Kenya I might not ever be able to go), so I don’t claim to have a good understanding of the city’s geography—so this is mostly just me doing my best with a mixture of Google Maps and Apple Maps to try to estimate commute patterns from the street grid.
With that being said, let’s get into the routes. I’m envisioning this system as light rail—where some segments use the existing commuter rail right-of-way, some segments run in streets or medians, and there are a few tunnels. The colors of the Purple and Blue Lines were chosen arbitrarily, while the colors of the other three were chosen to make the flag of Kenya in the central trunk line.
The Blue Line begins in Ruaka and follows Limuru Road to Two Rivers Mall and the Northern Bypass from there to Runda, before following United Nations Ave and tunneling under the Sigiria Forest to Westlands. From there, the route follows the Uhuru Highway all the way to Imara Daima, joining the Red Line along existing commuter rail tracks to Syokimau and continuing into a tunnel to the airport.
The Purple Line begins in Mihango and follows the Eastern Bypass to Ruai and Kangundo Road from there to New Njiru Town, where it turns onto Komarock-Mwiki Road until the Kassarani West station at Thika Road, which it follows all the way to the Globe Roundabout. A quick jog along University Way takes it to join the Blue Line until Bunyala Road.
The Black Line begins in Gitaru and follows the Uhuru Highway all the way to West Parklands, before taking Ojijo Road and Parklands Road to reach the Globe Roundabout. From there, it follows Tom Mboya Street to Central, where it joins the current commuter rail mainline and continues to Embakasi Village.
The Red Line begins in Wangige and follows Highway C63 through Kikuyu, joining the existing commuter rail line just past the hospital. The route continues along the existing right-of-way through Central, and uses the same new tunnel as the Blue Line to get to the airport.
The Green Line begins at Galleria Mall and follows Highway C63 to Langata East before tunneling to the existing commuter rail line at Mbagathi. From there, it follows the existing right-of-way all the way to Ruiru.
If anyone familiar with Nairobi wants to weigh in on the route choices, please let me know! Although I will specify up front that I’m fully aware that the funds to build this system do not exist—but that’s the fun of crayon maps in the first place. Assuming the funds do exist, where should the routes go? That is the question.
