Quick facts
Location: Wild Animal Park.
Simba Station Railway Boarding is next to
Thorntree Terrace dining
facility in Nairobi Village
Habitats/Regions featured: Deserts, steppes, wetlands, savannas,
and scrublands of Africa and Asia
Size: Railway track is 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) long (indicated in blue line on map above)
Opening date: May 10, 1972
Nearest dining facility: Thorntree Terrace is at the Railway's
entrance; Mombasa Island Cooker is near the Railway's unloading area.
Be sure to look for…
Elephants
Giraffes
Rhinos
Cape buffalo
Zebras
More
Help us help wildlife. Adopt-An-Animal is a unique way to give a gift.
Wgasa Bush Line Railway
Please note: The Wgasa Bush Line Railway is now a 3-mile, 45-minute excursion that takes visitors through Nairobi Village and past the Asian Plains, Central Asia, and East Africa field exhibits. This shortened tour will continue through 2007, when the first portion of the new tour route will be complete.
All aboard!
The expansive field exhibits of the Wild Animal Park, which enable our animals to roam so freely, help make the Park unique. A ride aboard the Wgasa Bush Line Railway, included with Park admission, allows you to observe these amazing animals in their natural setting. The Railway is an electric monorail ride that takes you on an incredible guided tour of the Wild Animal Park's major field exhibits of Asia and Africa.
Your Wgasa Bush Line Railway Tour departs from the railway boarding station near Thorntree Terrace in Nairobi Village, then glides quietly past impressive pachyderms, sleek and sly tigers and lions, and beautiful but recalcitrant Grevy's zebras on its way into the main field exhibits. The open-sided trains provide you with a large, clear view of the Park's amazing vistas and its remarkable inhabitants.
In
this adventure, you are enclosed while the animals roam at their leisure
through fields, hills, and valleys. Your driver/guide will point out and
name species as they come into view, and provide you with information on
their native habitat, physical characteristics, eating habits, social behavior,
and many other fascinating details. This guided excursion is different each
time you take it, because even the safari guides aren't sure what sights
you might see around each curve. The animals have room to behave naturally,
and that makes for some interesting spontaneity. Herds of elephants, giraffes, rhinos,
and antelope are
among the hundreds of animals you can see roaming the scenic rolling landscape
of East Africa and Central Asia. With your safari guide providing the fascinating
narrative about our breeding programs, the Wgasa Bush Line Railway lets you
see why the Wild Animal Park is a truly special place.
Fun facts
- The Wgasa Bush Line Railway operates daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is included with your admission!
- A "Golden Spike" ceremony was held when construction of the railway was completed in 1972. San Diego's mayor at the time, Pete Wilson, drove the last bolt.
- Electrically driven motors and 16 rubber tires under each train car gives visitors a nonpolluting and silent ride.
- Each railway car holds about 60 passengers.
- You'll see an occasional round hut along the railway track. These huts, called rondavels, are the electrical transformer stations that power the track. The power supply of 480 volts is single phase, alternating current, and it is converted by the trains to direct current for the motors.