Ship maker revives 13 ageing locomotives, boosting rail transport

BELINDA OSORO-PCO

Kenya Shipyards Limited (KSL) is driving a transformative shift in the country’s transport ecosystem, having rehabilitated 13 ageing locomotives, all of which are already in use on the old metre-gauge railway.

In a joint project with the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC), KSL has undertaken the rehabilitation and re-manufacturing of legacy locomotives at KRC’s central workshops.

The move is expected to redefine rail and lake logistics within the regional trade ecosystem.

“This collaboration underscores KSL’s commitment to integrated transport solutions and infrastructure resilience aligned with Vision 2030,” said Warrant Officer II Samwel Nyawara, Project Foreman at the KSL–KRC initiative. 

Engineer David Methu, a KSL consultant on the project, explained that the initiative evolved after earlier efforts encountered practical constraints.

“The initial scope involved overhauling 31 locomotives, as signed in June 2021.

However, challenges emerged after the delivery of seven locomotives due to spare parts obsolescence and long delivery lead times,” he said.

Despite setbacks, progress has been steady. “So far, KSL has remanufactured three Class 92 locomotives and rehabilitated ten Class 93/94 locomotives. All are in use by KRC,” Methu noted.

He added that the project has enabled valuable institutional learning.