Modern railway system top on Buhari’s table

as transport minister unveils PPP scheme to build new lines

Installing a modern and efficient rail transport system is one of the topmost priorities of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, says Chibuike Amaechi, minister of transportation.

The minister also unveiled a public private partnership (PPP) plan to build seven new railway lines in Nigeria in the new regime.

Amaechi made the declarations in Port Harcourt while flagging off the Port Harcourt – Aba Mass Transit Rail scheme on Wednesday, with a huge and enthusiastic crowd hailing the new effort.

The Mass Transit would haul 68 passengers at a time and operate four trips between the two cities from 5am to 8.15pm, starting from Aba. The coaches are air-conditioned and the train would run at 120km per hour.

Commissioning the scheme, Amaechi said the PPP approach would be the best option in building the seven new rail corridors and in revamping the railway network in Nigeria. The new rail corridors could connect most of the South-South and West towns that had hitherto been shut off.

He said the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) had already completed the Port Harcourt/Aba standard gauge system, which he came to commission.

The minister mentioned new bills being sent to the National Assembly that would lead to total overhaul of the transport sector from rail, land, water to air transportation. He described the Port Harcourt event as a huge milestone in the railway transport scheme.

Earlier, the Senate committee chairman on transportation, Gbenga Ashafa, said rail system must be revamped to save the road from damage and to complete the national transportation modes. He talked of the comfort in the new coaches and the scenery the trips offer.

The senator talked of unwavering commitment of the Buhari administration to the rail system, saying the National Assembly would ensure expeditious legislative appropriation to match the new administration’s avowed commitments, as there would be no modern railway system without adequate funding.

He called for steady focus on the railway project to match what was happening around the world in rail transportation.

In his commendations, the permanent secretary, ministry of transportation, Sabiyu Zakari, who was represented by a director, said there was huge commitment on railways by the new administration and said the Kano-Port Harcourt line had been commissioned.

Giving details, the managing director of the NRC, Adeseyi Sijuwade, an engineer, described the Port-Aba system as the nation’s first mass transit rail system, saying the consideration was due to the huge commercial boom in Ariaria (Aba) and Diobu in Port Harcourt.

Describing Port Harcourt as the commercial nerve centre of the region, Sijuwade mentioned the proposed inland container depot in Aba, the seaports in Port Harcourt, many schools, as reason why the scheme was important. He said the new system would help to decongest the Port Harcourt-Aba expressway that has gone too bad.

In his goodwill message, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, who sent the permanent secretary in the ministry of works, Stella Ebere Wigwe to represent him, described the railways as a colonial legacy that was very viable in the past.

He called for the encouragement of the system to bounce back because it holds the key to mass movement and job creation. The governor commended the federal government on the commissioning of the mass transit system.