Rift Valley Railways secures Kshs. 2.2 Billion to acquire new locomotives

Railway operator Rift Valley Railways says it’s secured 2.2 billion shillings to fund the acquisition of new locomotives. RVR will buy 20 locomotives from American conglomerate general electric as part of its strategy to replace its near obsolete fleet of trains. RVR says they have received 1.8 billion shillings as part of an asset financing deal from standard bank south Africa and cfc Stanbic bank while the remaining 400 million shillings will be sourced internally. RVR is expected to face competition from the new standard gauge railway being built from the port city of Mombasa to the Ugandan border that is due to be completed in the coming years. The acquisition of the new fleet marks the first investment made in over three decades. The first batch of three locomotives arrived on Tuesday.