The course is designed for prospective technicians who are expected to help Kenya ensure seamless operations and management of the railway line. PHOTO | FILE
The 36 students will undertake a bachelor’s degree course in Railway Engineering for four years at Beijing Jiatong University.
The first batch of 25 students to undergo training under the programme left the country for China last March.
The course is designed for prospective technicians who are expected to help Kenya ensure seamless operations and management of the railway line.
The second batch of trainees in a China funded railway engineering degree scholarship programme are set to leave for a Chinese university as Kenya seeks to build its own pool of local experts to run the standard gauge railway (SGR) once its commissioned.
The 36 students will undertake a bachelor’s degree course in Railway Engineering for four years at Beijing Jiatong University at a cost of Sh5 million each.
Once they complete studies they are expected to return to work for Kenya Railways. The course entails specialising in design and construction, signalling and communication as well as operation and maintenance. The training is funded by the China Communications Constructions Company (CCCC), the parent owner of China Roads & Bridges Corporation (CRBC), the SGR contractor. CCCC will run the SGR operations for five years before handing over to Kenya Railways.
It is working with Kenya Railways to ensure skills transfer. The first batch of 25 students to undergo training under the programme left the country for China last March.
President Uhuru Kenyatta launched the scholarship in March 2016 to train new railway engineers for the sustainability of the SGR.
President Kenyatta is expected to flag off the learners tomorrow. The government is banking on the training to create a pool of experts to manage the railway which will be commissioned in June. Kenya Railways has been running short courses, sponsored by CRBC, in collaboration with the Kenya Railway Training Institute and Southwest Jiaotong University.
The course is designed for prospective technicians who are expected to help Kenya ensure seamless operations and management of the railway line.
In addition to the communications course, there are courses on locomotives, signalling and track maintenance, each lasting between three and six months. Each has an enrolment of about 30 students.
“Kenyan trainees will understudy the Chinese and eventually take over from them, thus engendering much needed sustainability. The trainees will also get internship and attachment opportunities on the new railway sites, giving them invaluable exposure,” said transport Principal Secretary Irungu Nyakera last August.
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