The Railways Training Institute (RTI) has been refurbished by the government in preparation for the takeover of the Standard Gauge Railway(SGR) train operations by Kenya Railways Corporation.
Speaking on March 5 during a tour of the refurbished RTI, Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary (CS) James Macharia said that the institute would enable the government to cater to a large number of Kenyans who wanted to work in the industry.
“We have new infrastructure within RTI that will be used to upgrade the skills of both SGR and metre gauge railway staff. There is no need for an SGR if we do not create opportunities for Kenyans.
“We have the brick and mortar but if you do not train the people, then you cannot have a successful transfer of technology from the Chinese to Kenyans,” CS Macharia said.
The Railways Training Institute now has the capacity to train up to 800 Kenyans using the same standards used to train the SGR Kenyan staff who undertook a training exercise in China.
The institute has been upgraded at a cost of Ksh1 billion and it now includes modern laboratories and technical workshops that will be crucial in training the people who will work on the SGR.
Since its launch in 2017, the SGR has been operated by a Chinese company, Afristar, a subsidiary of the firm that built the Mombasa - Nairobi railway line. The company will be exiting in May 2022 which will see KRC takeover, hence the need for a world-class training institution.
Afristar was given a contract for ten years but the Kenya Railways said this was subject to review after five years. The company will be exiting the market following an agreement to cede operations to Kenya Railways.
Kenya Railways announced that it has already started taking over some of the SGR operations including ticketing, management of security and fuelling of trains.
The handover will happen in phases and is expected to be complete by May 2022 coinciding with the fifth anniversary of the Madaraka Express service.
