Opposition: Prasa paid R600m for trains the country can't use

7 Jul 2015

The opposition has lashed out at the government for its purchase of high-priced locomotives that, it said, could not safely run on the nation's railway tracks.

Opposition: Prasa paid R600m for trains the country can't use

The Passenger Rail Agency of SA recently imported 13 new diesel locos at a cost of R600 million as part of an order for 70 locos for R3.5 billion from Spanish manufacturer Vossloh Espaa.

DA spokesman on transport, Manny de Freitas said the locos have a roof height of 4.264m, but the maximum height for diesel locos in this country cannot exceed 3.965m. "Engineers say the locomotives could damage the overhead electrical cables on the railway lines," he said.

He said parliament had been misled about the dimensions of the new locos.

The EFF called for the CEO of Prasa, Lucky Montana, to be suspended without pay while the tender was investigated.

COPE's Dennis Bloem asked why Prasa had "wilfully" ignored warnings about the locomotives. - RDM News Wire

Source: The Times

Source: I-Net Bridge

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