Railways buys Sh100m machines
A Rift Valley Railways official explains the mechanism on one of the two Automated Railway Track maintenance machines at the port of Mombasa on April 17, 2014.The machines are capable of repairing 1000 metres of rail track per hour in contrast with the existing ones that can only do 40 meters per hour. PHOTO/KEVIN ODIT.
What you need to know:
- Journeys between Mombasa and Nairobi by train would last eight hours from 16 hours once repair of the tracks is complete.
- The machines will be commissioned after two months of extensive training of railway staff to operate them.
- The machines would take over work previously done manually.
The Rift Valley Railways has imported a Sh100 million equipment to repair its dilapidated lines to restore its long lost popularity among travellers.
Journeys between Mombasa and Nairobi by train would last eight hours from 16 hours once repair of the tracks is complete, according to the company’s officials.
Transport by road has become expensive following introduction of new traffic regulations while accidents continue to end lives.
The RVR operation manager for Eastern region, Mr Josiah Nyarangi, said the company has invested US $1.3 million (Sh112 million) in the importation of two high-capacity automated railway track maintenance tamping machines to repair the lines.
That would help reduce derailments caused by old rail lines by 80 per cent, he told journalists at the Mombasa port yesterday where the imported machinery is lying.
The machines would take over work previously done manually.
“The machines are able to repair and restore a kilometre of track per hour to the technically correct design specification compared to only 40 metres per hour using manual maintenance crews,” he said.
Mr Nyarangi added that the capital investments the company had made were aimed at improving the quality of the lines whose gradual deterioration had made railway handle less than 40 per cent of transport down from 75 per cent in the 1980s.
“Last year, we reopened Uganda’s Northern line after extensive rehabilitation and replaced 70km of worn out rail between Mombasa and Nairobi cutting journey times between the two cities by over six hours,” he said.
Mr Nyarangi spoke after witnessing offloading of the tamping machines at the port. The equipment was manufactured and delivered by Austrian firm Plasser and Theuere.
He said the automatic machines will ensure then tracks are maintained to the highest standards to ensure stability.
“This is in line with our company vision to transform the railway transportation service in Africa by 2020,” he said.
The machines will be commissioned after two months of extensive training of railway staff to operate them, he added.
Recently, the company imported slippers, fittings and other equipment to improve safety and quality of the rail service.
