Kenya Gov't to Import Second-Hand Commuter Trains from Spain for Sh10 Billion

The government through the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure is set to import 11 second-hand commuter trains from Spain at a cost of Sh10 billion.

The Sunday Nation reports that some of the used trains are as old as 25 years.

The newspaper says that each of the low-capacity diesel commuter trains will cost between Sh71 million and Sh137 million in a deal that has already received Cabinet approval.

The trains will arrive in the country from June 2019 alongside the BRT buses.

The deal for the purchase of the trains was struck in Barcelona in September 2018 by a team of 11 officials from Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) and the World Bank.

Also present were Principal Secretaries Charles Hinga and Esther Koimmet.

The locomotives were manufactured by Spain's Construcciones and Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) between 1994 and 2003.

Four of the trains are said to be in good condition while the rest require repair.

The locomotives are only able to pull three coaches, each carrying 128 seated and 130 standing passengers at full capacity.