Kenya Railways’ announcement that it would be spending Sh1.15 billion on used trains from Spain exposes the company to criticisms.
The move may not be necessarily a wrong one considering that the company had done prior cost benefit analysis.
The company or instance said the used DMUs were cheaper and ready for use compared to newer ones, which are costly and take time to be acquired.
“The cost of new similar DMUs range from Sh590-940 million and would take a minimum lead time of five years to acquire 11 new DMUs at a total cost of Sh6.5-10.3 billion with a design life of 30-40 years,” Kenya Railways said.
Kenya Railways (KR) has said the planned importation of used trains will help to improve number of daily passengers.
Kenya Railways (KR) revealed it will acquire 11 refurbished Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs), five coaches and spare parts from a Spanish State Company at the cost of Sh1.15 billion to improve its commuter rail services within Nairobi.
It has already refurbished forty coaches while another 20 is in progress in addition to the repair of GE class 93 locomotives.