TransNamib blames ageing locomotives for reliability woes

TRANSNAMIB says the late departure and arrival of its trains are because of unreliable locomotive fleet and natural factors such as sand on the rails between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.

TransNamib has been persistently criticised for its poor level of service delivery, costing the parastatal considerable embarrassing publicity because of trains departing and arriving late.
For more than a year, passengers have complained about trains being halted for long periods mid-journey, and of hours of delay before departure.
TransNamib spokesperson Ailly Hangula-Paulino last week attributed the problem to an unreliable locomotive fleet as well as natural factors such as sand on the rail between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.
The rail and road carrier is in the process of upgrading its fleet, she said, with 17 new locomotives purchased in 2007.
In addition, five of the 45 older General Electric locomotives that have been in service for more than 40 years, have been refurbished to international best practice standards, after which they are to be serviced for the next 15 years.
The other 40 are to follow, Hangula-Paulino said.
‘In the interim period, whilst the refurbishment programme is under way, TransNamib is enhancing the day-to-day maintenance of the old General Electric fleet to bring it up to a more reliable standard of operation,’ the TransNamib spokesperson said in a written response to a query by this newspaper.
She said that despite the negative sentiments that prevail at home, TransNamib last year scooped the award for Best Rail Operator in Africa at the Africa Railway Conference held in South Africa in June last year.
‘This award is clear testimony of the company’s remarkable level of commitment and dedication to serve the transport needs of the nation,’ she said.
Two of the original four TransNamib rail routes were confirmed by Hangula-Paulino as still being in existence.
These are the routes between Windhoek and Walvis Bay and between Windhoek and Keetmanshoop.
The company has discontinued routes from Windhoek to Tsumeb and Gobabis respectively. denver@namibia.com.na