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Forum => Kenya Discussion => Topic started by: Kadudu on November 30, 2015, 01:31:36 PM

Title: Why the standard gauge railway is not cost-effective
Post by: Kadudu on November 30, 2015, 01:31:36 PM
We were conned and some local guys starting at that house of the on the hill pocketed a lumpsome of the SGR cash.

Quote
As early as 2013, experts raised questions about the costing of the SGR—Kenyans are being charged $6.6 million per kilometre compared to $4.9 million per kilometre for Ethiopia’s ER.

This is a concern for as experts have pointed out, there are no major rivers or lakes or big hills to justify the high cost of the SGR.

In addition, parts of the ER will be a double track, and not a single track as the SGR is in its entirety. The SGR freight will have an average speed of 80kph while the ER will go up to 120kph.

http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Opinion-and-Analysis/Why-the-standard-gauge-railway-is-not-cost-effective/-/539548/2977014/-/ncdmnq/-/index.html
Title: Re: Why the standard gauge railway is not cost-effective
Post by: Georgesoros on November 30, 2015, 02:41:14 PM
Move on bro. Loan has to be paid. Just make sure we are not Greece.
Title: Re: Why the standard gauge railway is not cost-effective
Post by: Kadudu on November 30, 2015, 02:55:53 PM
You mean we are paying for the next 30 years. We have not paid the loan back.
Do not forget Greece has the EU behind it. Who does not does Kenya have to fall back too?

BTW, here is another option for Kenya

Quote
Some African countries may seek to renegotiate repayment of existing debts to China as a way of helping their economies hit by lower crude and commodity prices ..........

http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Africa-to-focus-on-China-debt-at-Jo-burg-summit/-/539552/2978098/-/qpk4qpz/-/index.html

Move on bro. Loan has to be paid. Just make sure we are not Greece.

Move on bro. Loan has to be paid. Just make sure we are not Greece.
Title: Re: Why the standard gauge railway is not cost-effective
Post by: Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants on November 30, 2015, 05:18:06 PM
What exactly does single track mean?  Does it mean the trains can only move in one direction at a time?  There is absolutely nowhere where there are more than one track?
Title: Re: Why the standard gauge railway is not cost-effective
Post by: MOON Ki on November 30, 2015, 05:56:11 PM
What exactly does single track mean?  Does it mean the trains can only move in one direction at a time?  There is absolutely nowhere where there are more than one track?

Trains travel in both directions, but they have to use sidings to pass each other.  Doesn't look like there's more than one track anywhere.   
Title: Re: Why the standard gauge railway is not cost-effective
Post by: Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants on November 30, 2015, 09:28:00 PM
What exactly does single track mean?  Does it mean the trains can only move in one direction at a time?  There is absolutely nowhere where there are more than one track?

Trains travel in both directions, but they have to use sidings to pass each other.  Doesn't look like there's more than one track anywhere.   
Ok.  Makes sense.  That means the average speeds are not going to be as great as one would anticipate in a situation where you don't have to coordinate the trains.  It won't necessarily be half, but still significantly slower than if there were two tracks.  Two tracks will probably mean double the cost; perhaps more in the Kenyan setup.
Title: Re: Why the standard gauge railway is not cost-effective
Post by: Georgesoros on November 30, 2015, 10:34:09 PM
To be fair, this was negotiated during kibakis time. Kenyatta did the financial negotiation.
Title: Re: Why the standard gauge railway is not cost-effective
Post by: MOON Ki on November 30, 2015, 11:45:54 PM
To be fair, this was negotiated during kibakis time. Kenyatta did the financial negotiation.

As far as I recall, the only thing Kibaki's government signed was an MoU (non-binding).   Uhuru did not have to go through with it, if it made no financial sense, which they had been told---by the World Bank, the EAC's own independent consultants, etc.   And having decided to go through with it, they did not have to include some padding for the eating.   

Another factor that is yet to be discussed is that chances of the line not being a total economic failure are dependent on calculations assuming cargo all the way to Uganda and Rwanda.   When does the line get extended past Nairobi, and at what cost?
Title: Re: Why the standard gauge railway is not cost-effective
Post by: RV Pundit on December 01, 2015, 01:32:51 PM
Ethiopia though doesn't include the rolling stocks; kenya contracts was padded with an extra 100b ostensibly to gather for trains and coaches.
Title: Re: Why the standard gauge railway is not cost-effective
Post by: Kadudu on December 01, 2015, 02:00:50 PM
100B for trains and coaches? That is a very high price. Somebody must have made a killing.
Personally I do not believe your version. If the experts come with the price per km railway and you come up with such a simple explanation, things just do not add up. Are the rail experts naive?
BTW the original price was 360B and that was without the trains and coaches. These came in much later as our local guys realised the spoils had to be spread to RV.

Ethiopia though doesn't include the rolling stocks; kenya contracts was padded with an extra 100b ostensibly to gather for trains and coaches.
Title: Re: Why the standard gauge railway is not cost-effective
Post by: Kim Jong-Un's Pajama Pants on December 02, 2015, 01:34:42 AM
Lest one forgets that the brother south of the Limpopo has also refused to eat grass.  It has been an eating season on the rail tracks.
Quote
Rail parastatal Prasa launched a dramatic court action this week to recover from one of South Africa's biggest ever tender debacles involving billions of rands.

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa wants the Spanish company that provided the controversial Afro 4000 trains - found to be unsuitable for the local rail network - to take back its stock and refund the R2.65-billion already paid to it.

The deal attracted international headlines when it was discovered earlier this year that the trains were too tall for South Africa's railways.

It has also emerged that Prasa executives involved in the deal could face criminal charges for their part in the scandal.

Court papers filed this week detail allegations of blatant collusion in the tender process, designed to favour certain individuals from the start.

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Says Molefe: " The specification for the tender was authored by Mtimkulu ... the specifications used to assess the bid proposals during the technical evaluations was irrational in that it included specifications that had no purpose other than to provide an advantage to Swifambo."
http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/stnews/2015/11/29/Take-back-your-trains-Prasa-seeks-refund-in-dodgy-tender-debacle