NAMIBIA’S CHINESE LOCOMOTIVES
Posted on 27 July 2009 by Railways Africa Editor
According to Namibian works and transport minister Helmut Angula, replying to a question in parliament, four Chinese locomotives costing about N$36 million which arrived in Namibia five years ago suffered 265 failures between October 2004 and June 2007. After this they were withdrawn from service. “This translated into an availability rate of less than 40%,” the minister admitted: “The decision to buy them was economically justified, but due to a lack of a proper technical analysis of the Chinese manufacturer’s design and a lack of quality control, these locomotives were not suitable for the Namibian environment in which they had to operate.” In response to a question – who will pay for the “white elephants” – Angula said that TransNamib and the Chinese company had agreed in 2005-06 that the Chinese would rebuild the four locomotives at a cost of $US260,000.
Referring to the diesel passenger train bought from China – the Omugulu GwoMbashe Star (OGS) – the price paid was $US2.3 million, the Minister told the House. It was originally intended as a shuttle train between Windhoek and the Hosea Kutako International Airport, but this never materialised. The train was rerouted to the Windhoek-Walvis Bay line and from July 2006 to the northern route between Windhoek and Ondangwa where it ran once a week. The minister explained: “The OGS broke down in March 2007 with a broken gearbox casing. As this product was a one-off unit manufactured for TransNamib, a replacement part had to be manufactured in China. This arrived in September 2007.” During the test run, however: “the complete gearbox disintegrated”. More replacement parts arrived 15 months later, at the end of 2008. The repairs were completed and this time the test runs were successful. “Since the end of 2008, the OGS is running but it does not go to the north,” Angula told MPs. “Currently the OGS is catering mainly for business corporate functions and chartered trips.” Routes are being analysed, the minister said, to determine which would be most appropriate for the train.
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What a waste of taxpayers money and the Chinese are smiling all the way to the bank. Did they ever consider buying from reputable companies like Siemens who have been present in this market for a century and know the climatic conditions under which these locomotives operate? Penny wise pounds foolish …
Which manufacturer and which model?
Ziyang CKD8C (2004)
we should consider quality as well,