Analyst fears passenger train will drain treasury

EConsult Botswana Managing Director, Dr Keith Jefferis has put a damper on the economic benefits associated with the return of the Botswana Railways’ passenger train business venture.

Transport and Communications ministry will re-introduce the Francistown-Gaborone Blue Train beginning of March this year after terminating the service in 2009 citing poor business.

“The public spending decisions really need to be improved. If we have got a limited amount of money, we have to make sure that money is spent well. Some of the areas that we are going to spend money on are clearly areas that are not going to generate much economic return,” said Jefferis.

He said that bringing back the passenger train will “cost a vast amount of money” and that the economic benefits “will be tiny”.

Recently, Minister of Transport and Communications, Tshenolo Mabeo said that the 37 coach passenger train will arrive in Botswana, from South Africa, early March and start operations at the end of the same month.