Kenya Railways orders safety audit

Kenya Railways management has ordered for a safety audit following rising cases of railway accidents.

The audit puts sharp focus on Rift Valley Railways, the operator of the railway line in Kenya and Uganda.

According to Kenya Railways, part of the concession agreement with RVR requires the railway operator to enhance railway safety as part of its maintenance mandate.

In February, a train sped across the Nairobi railway line unmanned after its braking system failed.

Kenya Railways has issued an expression of interest, seeking a consultancy firm to audit RVR’s operations with regards to safety.

Meanwhile, the government has invited bids for an adviser to help identify an operator for its new standard gauge railway network, a massive infrastructure project aimed at boosting trade and cutting transport costs across East Africa.

The USD13.8 billion rail project, which began in December 2014, will eventually link Kenya’s Indian Ocean port of Mombasa to the capital Nairobi, then on to Uganda.

State-run Kenya Railways (KR) said in a newspaper advertisement on Tuesday the adviser would recommend the appropriate operating model for the railway that is currently under construction.

The new Chinese-funded railway line is expected to ferry heavier and bigger containers much faster and reduce pressure on the region’s roads, which have been damaged by heavy traffic and uneven maintenance.

The new railway is expected to open up to commercial services in mid-2017.

The existing metre gauge railway was built by the British at the turn of the last century and is in bad shape due to years of mismanagement and neglect.

Additional reporting by Reuters