Government Planning To Buy Second Hand Trains From Spain At Ksh10 Billion

The government is set  to import 11 used trains from Spain, some as old as 25 years, in a Ksh10 billion scheme.

A single train will cost the taxpayers between Ksh71 million and Ksh137 million in the deal that has been assented by the cabinet. The trains are set to start arriving in the country as from June, alongside the BRT buses.

Reports by the Sunday Nation indicate that deal was brokered in a trip to Barcelona in September 2018 by a team of 11 officials drawn from Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC), the World Bank and the ministry led by Principal Secretaries Charles Hinga and Eshter Koimmet.

The trains were manufactured by Construcciones and Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) from Spain between 1994 and 2003.

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Considering the age of the locomotives, only four units are in good shape while the rest are subject to repairs while some of the spares could be out of market.

The trains can only pull three coaches with each carrying 128 seated and 130 standing passengers at full capacity.

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