The Nairobi to Mombasa railway heralded the birth of modern Kenya but it has fallen into decay. Now there are plans to restore it. Steve Bloomfield reports
Published: 26 March 2007

Night is closing in as we leave Nairobi. The electricity is not working so first and second-class passengers are issued with torches. There is no such luxury for those in economy class. The train's chef strides the narrow corridors playing a xylophone to call first and second class passengers to dinner. White-coated waiters serve up a very English-style three-course dinner - soup and beef stew, followed by sponge with custard. There is not enough cutlery to go around so some passengers have to wait for others to finish eating. The passengers in the dining car are almost entirely white. Just a handful of middle-class black Kenyans are in second class, none are in first. By contrast, the five economy carriages are entirely black. With no light and cramped seating, few enjoy a comfortable journey.

For tourists though, the "Lunatic Express" is not just a way of getting to their destination - it is part of the holiday. As the last passengers leave the dining car and people begin to bed down for the night, four French tourists drink whisky in their cabin. "It is just like an Agatha Christie novel," laughs Isabelle Magne. Together with her husband, Frederic, and his brother and wife, they decided to take the train because they wanted "to have an adventure", she says. "And this is certainly an adventure. When we arrived at the station it looked so British and colonial. The train looked like something from 100 years ago. In France we have the TGV - train à grande vitesse. This is the TPV - train à petite vitesse."