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By Fidelis Ugbomeh
Stakeholders in railway sector have heralded plans by Federal government to unveil a comprehensive National Railway Development Roadmap that will shape rail connectivity across 36 states, saying Public, Private, Partnership approach should be adopted to ensure that appropriate structures are put in place for sustainability.
They averred that with a well planned road map and a condusive environment created, rail interconnectivity within all states can be possible within a short span.
According to Mr.John Okocha, a freight forwarder this is not the first time Nigerians have been cajoled into railway development plans especially the campaign of 20-Year railway master Ppan of former minister of transportation Ojo Maduekwe which lasted without any infrastructure to show.
He noted that the APC led government of late President Muhammadu Buhari also roled out its rail modernisation project that brought to fruition, Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge, as well as completion of Abuja-Kaduna and Warri-Itakpe standard gauge railway projects earlier started and abandoned by previous regimes.
Another respondent, Mr. Musa Idris stated further that former minister of transportation Rotimi Amaechi who executed Lagos-Ibadan project on loan also promised that all the 36 state capitals will be linked by rail to no avail.
He reiterated that the federal government should refrain from mere announcement of plans and ensure that structures are put in place for comprehensive national railway development roadmap that will ensure rail connectivity across all 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in line with the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to thrive
Recall that managing director, Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Dr. Kayode Opeifa, had at Seventh National Transport Conference of Chartered Institute of Transport Administration (CIOTA), recently held at NICON Luxury Hotel, Abuja promised that the Federal government will soon unveil a comprehensive national railway development plan.
He explained that the roadmap is designed to enable all states to access and utilize the national rail corridors at no extra cost, following recent legislative amendments that placed railway development on the concurrent legislative list.
According to him, Lagos and Plateau States are already taking advantage of this policy, while several others are encouraged to key into the initiative.
“We are saying where there is a national rail asset, states should make use of it. The line is available from Lagos to Kano. If your state is along this corridor, you can run services on the line. Lagos and Plateau are already doing this and we are open to working with others,” Opeifa said.
He further noted that Ogun and Oyo States have both narrow and standard gauge networks available for utilization, just as Edo, Delta, Kogi, Kaduna, Kano and Niger States can connect seamlessly to existing national rail corridors.
Opeifa also highlighted the ongoing freight-by-rail expansion, where the Corporation is currently moving increased volumes of containerized cargo, gypsum, soda ash, cement, metal coil and materials for the AKK Pipeline Project.
Regarding the Corporation’s development projection framework, referred to as Vision 2-5-10-20, he stated that NRC plans to optimize national rail assets within the first two years, transit to electric traction by the fifth year, double national rail capacity within ten years, and achieve not less than 60,000 kilometers of rail network nationwide within 20 years.
