More than 1000 passengers enroute Itakpe from Warri are stranded close to Agenebode train station in Edo State.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) on the spot findings discovered that the train developed engine problem at about 12.35 pm, shortly after passengers disembarked at Agenebode.
A further probe by TNG revealed that the engine’s problem is linked to hydraulics as the train could no longer pump air.
Details shortly…
The federal government generated about N3.3 billion from rail transportation in the second quarter of 2024, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday.
According to the NBS, the data, as contained in the NBS Rail Transportation Data for Q2 2024, was provided by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) and reported by the bureau.
A breakdown of the figure shows that the NRC generated N1.69 billion as revenue from passengers in Q2 of 2024. The report showed that the figure increased by 53.14 per cent compared to the N1.10 billion generated in Q2 of 2023.
It also showed that N537.36 million was collected in Q2 2024 as revenue from goods/ cargos conveyed by rail, this increased by 206.68 per cent from N175.22 million received in Q2 2023.
Similarly, the report showed that revenue generated from the movement of goods/cargo via pipeline increased to N42.08 million in Q2 2024, compared to the N12.81 million reported in Q2 2023.
“Also, other receipts amounted to N994.68 million, showing an increase of 5.2 per cent in Q2 2024 from the N18.74 million recorded in Q2 2023”.
ALSO READ || BREAKING: FG records major breakthrough to crash train fares
The report also showed that the number of rail transport passengers in Q2 2024 increased to 689,263. This is higher than the 474,117 recorded in Q2 2023, representing a growth rate of 45.38 per cent.
The federal government of Nigeria recorded a major breakthrough in the rail transport sector on Thursday, taking delivery of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) retrofitted locomotives for the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC).
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the locomotives retrofitted through a Public-Private Partnership with De-Sadel Consortium, will run largely on gas and partly on diesel and are expected to crash the price of rail transportation by 50 per cent.
The Minister of Transportation, Senator Saidu Alkali during the final test run of one of the retrofitted locomotives from the Idu Train Terminal to the Kubwa Train Station in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), said the idea is to use 70 per cent of LNG to run the locomotives.
“To God be the glory, the locomotive is successfully retrofitted. It is using LNG 70 per cent and diesel 30 per cent. The retrofit will enable the engines to work on a dual-fuel system with the locomotive running on 70 per cent gas and 30 per cent diesel.
“The idea is that by the time you use LNG 70 per cent, the cost of running the locomotive will drastically reduce. There was a presidential directive that all ministries, departments and agencies to transit from petroleum and diesel to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and LNG,” Alkali said.
He said that the desire of President Bola Tinubu by the conversion from diesel to gas was to bring down the cost of transportation in the country.
“Transportation is the gateway of the nation’s economy. By the time the cost of transportation is low, obviously inflation will drop”, he said.
On the partnership with De-Sadel, Alkali said that the ministry had been engaging with investors to boost the lot for the ministry and the country.
“Immediately when I took over as the minster of transportation, the ministry was open to investors. De-Sadel approached the ministry that they are going to retrofit all our locomotives for 70 per cent LNG and 30 per cent diesel. Today, the locomotive is successfully retrofitted. We are riding on the locomotive,” he said.
He further said that the idea of retrofitting was to unbundle the Nigerian Railway Corporation, adding that already, the National Assembly has started the process of unbundling the NRC Act through repeal and reenactment.
“This is so that we allow private investors to come and invest in all our rail corridors,” he said.
ALSO READ || How FG generated N3.3bn from rail transport in Q2 2024
The Chief Executive Officer, De-Sadel Consortium, Samuel Uko, said that the contract with the federal government was a 20-year agreement.
“We will sustain the project, All the Nigerian Railway Corporation locomotives will be converted to run on LNG. Running the locomotives with LNG will reduce inflation in the country because with LNG, we can crash the price of transportation by 50 per cent, he added.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has expressed concern over the rate of vandalism and theft of its infrastructure across the country. NRC Managing Director, Mr Freeborn Okhiria voiced out this concern during a visit to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), headquarters in Abuja.
Okhiria commended the NSCDC for its unwavering efforts in protecting Critical National Assets and Infrastructure (CNAI) which has, over the years, led to the arrest of railway sleeppers thieves. He, however, said that notwithstanding the NSCDC efforts to salvage the NRC from economic saboteurs, the corporation still suffers losses through vandalism of its installations across the country.
“Rail tracks are still being vandalised while the number of perpetrators are rising in spite of many arrests,” he fumed.
According to the NRC boss, all hands must be on deck to confront the disturbing trend which he described as “an organised conspiracy to commit economic sabotage”. He called for a stronger synergy amongst critical stakeholders and security agencies to bring perpetrators and sponsors of such vandalism to book.
Okhiria urged Nigerians to provide information that would lead to the arrest of suspects so that infrastructure meant to meet the public’s needs would be secured.
Responding, NSCDC Commandant-General, Ahmed Audi, disclosed that more than 20 trailers conveying vandalised railway sleepers had been impounded by the Corps.
“Numerous suspects have been arrested in connection with the crime of vandalism of Railway slippers,” he disclosed.
Audi expressed readiness to work harder to curtail the acts while decrying the slow pace encountered in the course of prosecution of suspects. He said that the NSCDC would strengthen its disciplinary mechanism and sanction any personnel found sabotaging the concerted effort.
Audi solicited NRC’s assistance in catering for the welfare of personnel deployed to protect railway infrastructure.
The Eastern Railway District Manager of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), Mohammed Ibrahim, has warned citizens against vandalizing rail tracks in the South-East.
Ibrahim, who gave the warning while addressing newsmen in Enugu on Wednesday said the warning became necessary given the rising cases of vandalism of Railway facilities in Abia, Ebonyi and Enugu States.
The district manager, however, appealed to host communities to protect the equipment belonging to the corporation within their communities as their own property.
He identified the hot spots to include, Umugo in Abia, Ishiagu in Ebonyi, Ubahu and Udumachara in Enugu State.
According to him, the most worrisome and heartbreaking one is the unfortunate reports of vandalism of the newly constructed Aba to Port-Harcourt Railway track, particularly at Umugo in Abia.
He stated that on July 3, 200 pieces of nuts and clips were reported to have been removed by these vandals while on July 15, too, 90 pieces of nuts and clips were equally reported to have been removed.
The Eastern Railway boss added that all these incidents took place within Umugo Section of the track.
“This wickedness is capable of causing accident of unimaginable proportion if not checked.
“I wonder why any human being with his or her right senses will think about frustrating this project that has brought so much relief to the good people of the Eastern District.”
While thanking the Abia State Government for her continued support, he asked for more support and equally asked other states in the zone to also assist the Corporation in putting an end to the wicked act.
This, he said, they did by empowering security agencies to be on the lookout for trucks or any vehicle carrying railway materials.
Speaking further on the hot spots, Ibrahim noted that virtually on daily basis, railway track materials were being carted away by hoodlums at Ubahu and Ehamufu sections, as well as Udumachara, all in Enugu State.
He also stressed that Ishiagu in Ebonyi State was witnessing high rate of vandalism of railway track materials.
“I also had a report of sets of missing fasteners along the railway line from DK19+750-DK20+300 around Elelenwon, Rivers State.
“To ensure the operation of the railway line, the contractor has promptly completed the supplementary installation of the fasteners.
“Additionally, on July 25, the contractor caught a thief stealing fasteners along the line and handed him over to the Police at Port-Harcourt Station, on the same day,” he said.
He, however, called on all traditional rulers and Presidents-General of the communities mentioned to remember that a functional railway system would boost development in the zone.
Dr Freeborn Okhiria, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, has urged the three tiers of government and the private sector to invest in railway infrastructure.
He also said that care must be taken to ensure that rail networks would conform to safety standards.
Okhiria said this at the Professorial Chair on Transport and Logistics Guest Lecture organised by the School of Transport and Logistics, Lagos State University, on Wednesday.
The lecture was entitled: “From Exclusive Clause to Concurrent List: Potency for Sustainable Rail Infrastructure in Nigeria and the Lagos State Example”.
Okhiria said that uniformity for seamless connectivity with other networks and the national grid should be in order so as not to jeopardise investment or cause superfluity.
“The opening up of the railway sector is a positive development in addressing intra-state and inter-state travel challenges, especially in states with high population and commercial activities such as Lagos.
“We are committed to helping and guiding state governments in constructing their railways to the universally-accepted standards.
“We will ensure that care for safety operations is in order to safeguard lives and property,” Okhiria said.
He said that NRC was one of the oldest contemporary and modern transport organisations and had the vision to be a world-class rail transport organisation by providing affordable and customer-oriented services.
“Railway development in Nigeria was initiated by private interest. This was later taken over by the then colonial government.
“The problem we often have is that when a government comes in, its want to start and complete a project in its tenure but rail is not like that; it has to be done in bits.
“If you have a deliberate policy of doing 20km every year and you add it to your budget, if other governments come in and continue from where you stopped, in 10 years, you will have about 200km railway,” Okhiria said.
Mr Oluwaseun Osiyemi, Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, said that Lagos State Government would continue to develop the transport sector holistically, both in the development of infrastructure and education.
Osiyemi said that the government and Lagos residents had benefitted much from the migration of rail transport from the exclusive clause to the concurrent list.
“The Lagos Rail Mass Transit, Blue and Red Lines, are both testaments to this development.
“Lagos State has commenced partnership talks with its neighbouring state, Ogun, to link the Red Rail Line through Agbado into the state in addition to the existing Mowe Route,” he said.
Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, Vice-Chancellor of LASU, said that other states in Nigeria should emulate Lagos State by investing in rail transport to hasten economic prosperity of the country.
Olatunji-Bello, represented by Prof. Adenike Boyo, LASU Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), said that using the Lagos experience, it was safe to say that investment in rail infrastructure would enhance the lives of citizens by reducing their travel time.
“It also helps to be a catalyst for the faster rate of development in the sector and the economy as a whole,” she said.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has taken delivery of another round of 17 locomotive driven containers from Kano to Lagos within the country.
NRC Managing Director, Mr Fidet Okhiria, disclosed this in a statement he signed on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said that the delivery was in continuation and consolidation of freight services inaugurated by the ministry of transportation in June, 2024.
“The cargo train which arrived at Lagos at about noon on July 15 departed the Dala inland dry port Kano on July 5, a journey that was made only during the daytime.
“The Nigerian government believes the cargo haulage system will ease movement of goods from the ports to the hinterlands.
“While reducing not only the numbers of articulated vehicles on the Nigerian roads, but averting possible mishaps,” he said.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) says herders and traders can soon move their cows from northern Nigeria to the southern region of Nigeria using rail services.
NRC Managing Director, Fidet Okhiria, revealed this on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief breakfast show on Wednesday, hours after President Bola Tinubu announced the creation of a new ministry for livestock development.
He said the movement of cows and other goods would resume with the Warri-Itakpe route. The NRC, famous for passenger traffic, had in 2017 suspended the movement of cattle by train following technical hitches.
However, Okhiria said in a matter of one or two months, herders would be able to move their cattle on the Warri-Itakpe train services. Itakpe is a town in Kogi State in North Central Nigeria while Warri is located in Delta State in the South-South geopolitical zone of the country.
He said the NRC would modernise the movement of goods in the country “so that when they come by road from the north, they can move them by rail to South-South Warri”.
Okhiria said the NRC has brought in some wagons that can mobilise livestock and they are being assembled in the Kajola area of Oyo State in the South-West.
“We’ve built 15 wagons for livestock and maybe in the next month or two months, they would be deployed from Itakpe to Warri to drive the economy,” the NRC boss stated.
‘Efficient Rail Services Boost Economy’
He said investment in railways should be for the social and economic benefits of the people and not profit-oriented in naira and kobo.
“You are not developing transportation because you want to make profit in terms of naira and kobo but the profit will come indirectly if we can move goods and link cities,” he said.
According to him, the indirect earnings might not be directly to the government but it would flow into the economy.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has confirmed that normal train operations will resume on the Warri-Itakpe Train Service (WITS) route from Monday.
This is contained in a statement released on Sunday by NRC’s Deputy Director of Public Relations, Yakub Mahmood.
The statement reads: “The Management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) hereby informs to the general public especially our valued passengers that the train services (WITS) will resume operation on Monday 8 July 2024, after temporary suspension of trains operations along the route as a result of train derailment at Abraka Railway station.
“All intending travellers on WITS, may continue to book their boarding tickets online as from today 7 of July or physically at our stations from Monday 8t of July, as usual.
“NRC Management deeply regrets any inconveniences this derailment and temporary suspension of WITS may have caused our valued passengers”.
The Federal Government has assured Nigerians that it is addressing incidents of train derailment in the country, through proactive measures.
The Minister of Transportation, Sen. Said Alkali gave the assurance in a statement he personally signed and made available to newsmen on Sunday in Abuja.
Alkali gave the assurance while reacting to the recent of the train operating the Warri-Itakpe Train Service (WITS) route.
“The recent incidents involving our trains are currently being addressed through proactive measures.
“A significant number of such incidents were the direct result of incidents of vandalism and criminality along the rail tracks by deviants who do not wish our country well.
“I wish to also direct that all stakeholders in safe and secure operations in the railway industry should immediately put their best foot forward for continuous service to our people and our dear motherland,“ Alkali said.
Speaking on the July 4 train derailment between Itakpe in Kogi and Warri in Delta, the Minister said he has directed investigations into the incident, as well as safety and welfare of all passengers on board.
“My attention has been drawn to the reports of derailment of some coaches of a scheduled train service operated by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) between Itakpe, Kogi State and Warri in Delta State, which happened on July 4.
“Upon receipt of the news of this unfortunate incident and enquiries made, my observation is that the unfortunate incident did not result in any fatalities.
“The incident occurred near Abraka in Delta State at about 7.15pm on Thursday night. I have directed the NRC, as the operator, to immediately ensure the safety and welfare of all passengers on board the train,“ he said.
Alkali assured that NRC would evacuate the distressed coaches from the tracks in order to guarantee resumption of services as soon as possible and produce a comprehensive report of the incident for his consideration.
According to him, NRC had commenced steps in the above direction and all indications point to the fact that normalcy was gradually being restored on the service.
The minister sympathised with all persons who were on board the train at the time of the incident and further assured the general public, particularly those patronising the train services of their safety and welfare.