The NPP Minority Transport Committee brought up some concerns regarding the purchase of two (2) diesel locomotives and twenty (20) goods wagons from the Ghana Railway Development Authority, and the Ministry of Transport wishes to address these concerns.
Conventional railway engineering does not evaluate rolling stock solely on the basis of its age. Referring to the Class 56 locomotive as “toys fit for the museum” is a fundamental misconception about railway engineering and locomotive operations, and it is absolutely incorrect.
Engineers analyse structural integrity, refurbishing quality, remaining fatigue life, reliability, availability, maintainability, tractive effort, axle load, route compatibility, spare parts support, whole life cost and commercial return to evaluate its usefulness.
Indeed, prior to their importation to Ghana, the two (2) trains underwent heavy maintenance in the United Kingdom involving a complete overhaul of the diesel engines, the overhaul of electrical traction equipment, overhaul of traction motors and bogies, complete renewal of the brake system, installation of GSM-R digital railway radio and other modern safety equipment required for UK main-line operation, complete replacement of worn-out mechanical components, among other technical installations after which thorough testing and certification was carried out before export.
In addition to this, a five-year warranty period has been granted by the providers against operational problems. Before undergoing any significant maintenance, these rolling stocks might continue to remain productive for at least fifteen (15) years under a rigorous regular and periodic maintenance schedule.
With regards to capacity building for the maintenance of the equipment, it is worthy to note that the engineers have already arrived in Ghana and have commenced specialised hands-on training and technology transfer to equip GRDA Technicians and Engineers with the technical knowledge and skills for the maintenance of the trains.
Takeaways from Past Rolling Stock Purchases Even though one of the two units, DMU 002, was a reconditioned train, the previous NPP Administration paid US$14.67 million, or roughly GH0164.7 million, for two (2) two-car PESA Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) trains for passenger services. By contrast, the present NDC Government, through the Ministry of Transport and the Ghana Railway Development
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Source: newsthemegh.com