Activists ask Kenya’s president stop railway crossing park

NAIROBI, Kenya – About 100 protesters have petitioned the office of Kenya’s president urging him to intervene and stop the planned construction of an elevated railway line through Nairobi National Park.

Resident Teresia Lesian says the train’s noise will scare animals out of Kenya’s oldest national park and into their homes.

The Chinese project would cross six kilometres of the park, and environmental groups have vowed to fight it.

Nairobi’s expansion has brought increased conflict between humans and wildlife, threatening the existence of animals including lions, cheetahs and hyenas. All are found in the park.

Kenya is redoing its railway line from Nairobi to the port city of Mombasa, and the line would cross over the park as it approaches the town of Naivasha, where the government wants to construct an industrial hub.