Government Determined To Purchase Old Trains

As the old adage goes that “a new broom sweeps cleanbut the old broom knows the corners”, Kenya Railway commission on Wednesday defended their position in the purchase of 11 old trains on Tuesday stating that they are cheaper, have a longer shelf life of between 23 and the 11 trains and their spare parts will cost Kshs 1.15 billion shillings.

According to an advert on Daily Nation, KRC refuted claims that there are vested interests in the deal between the Ministry of Transport and Spain which gave Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca a contract to facilitate the purchase of the trains.

Their purchase will call for the construction of nine new stations at Kenyatta University, Umoja, Kibera, Thogoto, Mbagathi Way, Kitengela, Dagoretti and Strathmore University. The commuter railway network is set for rehabilitation with new lines set to be added onto the 150Km stretch of commuter rail lines already existing in Nairobi.

The statement further indicated that Kenya Railways is determined to ensure the legal procedures of acquiring the trains is followed. The 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 of Housing and Urban Development.

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