Plans to avert power outage crisis in new electric trains

By MARK MUTAHI

KENYA: An official at the transport department has come out to reassure Kenyans of the reliability of the much-touted electric train system. He claimed there are contingency plans in place to ensure the erratic power supply that citizens are used to don’t derail the planned electric train system.

“With a track record in power supply being as dependable as rain-fed agriculture in the Sahara, we are not going to allow ourselves to be stopped in our tracks by the national power distributor,” the official who spoke on condition of anonymity said.

Already the issue of power was raising fears among prospective users of the electric trains. Most of them have strong reservations over safety and security concerns. They fear the man-eaters of Tsavo might be planning to mark a hundred-plus years of eating railway builders, by feeding on railway travellers who happen to be fatter and juicier.

Contingency

One of the contingency measures, what the department is banking on, is having passengers alighting and pushing the train whenever there is a power outage.

 “In fact, that’s why we went for a standard gauge line, which is 1.4 metres wide. With this, more people standing by side are able to push from the back as opposed to the 1.0 metre gauge line, which cannot accommodate as many pushers!” explained the official. The official also added that there is a reason why the passenger train has a capacity of more than 900 people, as opposed to the old trains, which have a smaller capacity. He said the reason is to ensure that in the event of a power outage, there is enough manpower.

Locomotive

To ensure that passengers can push the train, the locomotive operators might, at times, be forced to apply discriminatory practises when determining who to sell a ticket to.

“Don’t be surprised if we only allow muscular people on the train, especially when we have advance information that there might be power disruptions!” revealed the official.

Additionally, people living along the standard gauge railway line will occasionally be required to lend a hand. Actually they will be required to drop whatever they were doing, and rush to assist since this is soon going to be classified as a mandatory national duty — which invites a jail term for failing to abide.

Another contingency plan that the transport department has planned is to have as many jerrycans as possible on the train. In this instance, what will happen is that once the power goes off, the jerrycans will be handed to the fastest passengers on board who will then be required to run to the nearest petrol station to buy diesel.

Solar

The diesel will be for powering the generator fitted on the train. It is understood that the generator fuel tank will be kept empty deliberately when not in use, just as a way of remaining true to the Kenyan culture of never being prepared for emergencies.

There are also plans by the transport department to install solar panels on the roofs of the planned electric trains. This means that should there be power outage at night, the trains will have to stop and wait for the sun to rise the following day.

“Kenyans are a patient lot; they surely will not mind the inconvenience of waiting in the middle of nowhere for a day or two for the batteries to recharge,” the official concluded.