Costly derailment in Kenya

[John Ashworth]

COSTLY DERAILMENT IN KENYA

By railwaysafricaeditor / January 12, 2011 / Mishaps Africa

On 1 January, more than 200,000 litres of fuel worth “millions of shillings” spilled when five tankcars in a train carrying fuel from Mombasa to Uganda left the track at Nauria, 10km from the border at Malaba. “Severe damage” to the rolling stock was reported. According to press reports, local residents enjoyed a New Year bonanza, siphoning fuel from the derailed wagons throughout the night. They were lucky. In January 2009, 110 people lost their lives when a petrol train caught fire at Molo in Kenya.