Railway

2010: Year of the speed train

Published

5 years ago

December 31, 2020

By Adeyinka Aderibigbe

The transportation sector operated for most part of the year below optimal capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the fear of resurgence and a second wave of the pandemic, the launch of Lot II, known as the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge, came with bright prospects.

From its take-off in October 2017, the pace of work had been appreciative. Given that the Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri line, which was the nation’s first standard gauge, was delivered after 35 years, and the second, from Abuja to Kaduna, took 12 years, the best of cynics had written the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge off, as another white Elephant project by the Buhari administration.

The take-off of commercial activity was to clear the fog that the standard gauge was not a phantom project. Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi had been at the vanguard of changing the nation’s transportation narrative. By December, the only feature remaining on the project was the delivery of the stations.

Meanwhile, criticism also seems to be changing. The issue is no longer whether the government can deliver on the project, the criticism has shifted to the fares, which many considered “too unfriendly to the masses’’.

Amaechi, earlier in the month, had announced a range of fare ranging from N3000, economy class, to N5,000, business class and N6,000, first class. However, when the service eventually took-off, the government slashed the economy class to N2500. Amaechi has foreclosed a further review of the fares.

Buttressing the minister’s position, the Nigerian Railway Corporation’s Managing Director Fidet Okhiria said the service was affordable to many. According to him, the service would continue to run.

He said more coaches would be deployed to the train tracks as passenger volume increases.

“Two luxury coaches would be put on the tracks, while the frequency will increase to two, as soon as the passenger traffic increases,” Okhiria said.

Okhiria said the frequency of trips would also affect the movement timetable, which runs one return leg from Ibadan to Lagos. The train leaves Ibadan 8am and departs Lagos back to Ibadan at 4pm.

He said 15 Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) locomotives and 25 wagon locomotives had been ordered, while wagons and coaches of various categories had been ordered by the Federal Government to be deployed on the route once it begins commercial operations.

The rail is also seen as the game changer in the maritime sector. The government sees rail as the solution to the traffic gridlock at Apapa and by extension, Lagos. Government has already given a marching order to the APMT to work its operations round the contractor in bringing the tracks into the port area for seamless haulage operations.

An active train system in the ports would expand the port’s potential as the cash cow of the nation’s economy.

Not only has the subsector domesticated the Executive Order 5, which focuses on the ease of doing business at the ports, it is preparing all agencies of government in the sector to gear up and police the nation’s waterways and national assets in order to deliver more funds to the coffers.

Despite the huge funding gaps, there has also been so much going on, on the inland waterways. One of beautiful interventions was the provision of water ambulances to prevent deaths in the event of accidents on the waterways.

The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) embarked on aggressive enlightenment to drive home safety tips and voluntary compliance with waterways regulations by all operators.

But perhaps, more significant was the readiness of NIWA to begin the operation of its strategic inland ports, such as the Baro River Port in Niger State, the flagship port in the North, which despite the huge investments, were rendered unusable by lack of motorable roads to connect the inland port.

NIWA also improved its partnership with other states with effectiveness as the regulator on the waterways.

State of roads

Nigeria has 108,000 km of surfaced roads as at 1990. It is home to the largest road network in West Africa and second largest, south of the Sahara.

Since independence, the country has been battling dilapidated and decaying road infrastructure. The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, for instance remains jaded, with the contractor announcing a new date of 2022 as completion date for the repair works on this critical road.

The government approved about N134 billion in 2018 to accommodate more features on some sections of this critical road.

The repairs started in 2000. At the last count over 150 highways, 66 interstate roads and 45 bridges scattered across 34 states, are in various stages of completion.

Minister of Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola had caused a stir last year, when he said the 2020 allocation could not even pay outstanding debts owed contractors and canvassed tolling some critical roads.

Southeast and Southsouth remained zones with the worst road profile, according to statistics by the FMWH. The story has hardly changed as the year winds down.

Fashola believes the administration is doing so much with much less, underscoring the regime’s penchant for prudence in the public sector.

But Nigerians seem not to see yet the gains of such frugal spending on critical roads.

Enabling laws

Despite its efforts, the Eighth Assembly could not deliver on any of the six bills that could have strengthened the transportation industry.

The Ninth Assembly is yet to begin work on all the bills for the sector. One of such bills was the bill seeking to repeal the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) for a Federal Roads Authority, which passed second reading at the Eighth Senate.

Other such bills still hanging are: the Nigerian Railway Corporation (Act 1955) Amendment Bill, the Nigeria Transportation Commission Bill, which seeks to establish a regulator for the transportation sector, the Nigerian Shippers Council Amendment Bill, and the Nigeria Ports Authority Amendment Bill.

– The Nation

Railway

Opeifa Seeks EU Investment to Fast-track Nigeria’s Low-Carbon Rail Revolution

Published

1 day ago

June 26, 2026

Trends Admin

Opeifa Seeks EU Investment to Fast-track Nigeria’s Low-Carbon Rail Revolution

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Dr. Kayode Opeifa, has called on the European Union, international investors and development finance institutions to channel sustainable investments into Nigeria’s railway sector to accelerate the country’s transition to a low-carbon transport system and drive economic growth.

Opeifa said expanding and modernising Nigeria’s rail network would not only help reduce carbon emissions but also lower logistics costs, improve passenger mobility, create jobs and strengthen regional connectivity, positioning rail as a catalyst for national development.

Speaking at the 10th Nigeria–EU Business Forum on Sustainable Transportation and Global Gateway Opportunities for Partnerships held on Thursday, Opeifa described rail transportation as a strategic national asset capable of advancing Nigeria’s economic transformation while supporting its climate change commitments.

According to him, rail remains one of the cleanest and most energy-efficient modes of transportation, making sustained investment in the sector critical to reducing pressure on the nation’s highways and promoting environmentally friendly mobility.

“By strengthening our railway network, we can significantly reduce carbon emissions, ease congestion on our highways, lower logistics costs, improve passenger mobility, and stimulate industrial and commercial activities across Nigeria,” he said.

Opeifa Seeks EU Investment to Fast-track Nigeria’s Low-Carbon Rail Revolution

Railway

Warri-Itakpe Train Crash: Full Manifest Retrieved, FG, NRC Condole Families of Five Dead

Published

2 weeks ago

June 11, 2026

Trends Admin

Warri-Itakpe Train Crash: Full Manifest Retrieved, FG, NRC Condole Families of Five Dead

The Federal Ministry of Transportation and the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) have said the full manifest of passengers and crew members aboard the ill-fated Warri–Itakpe train has been retrieved, even as they extended condolences to the families of the five persons who lost their lives in Monday’s accident near Agbor, Delta State.

In a joint update on the incident, the ministry and the NRC said efforts were ongoing to identify all injured passengers and deceased victims for proper documentation, while assuring that relevant authorities would have access to the complete onboard manifest.

The agencies confirmed that five persons — four adults and a baby — died when four coaches of the Warri–Itakpe Train Service (WITS) capsized and another derailed along the corridor. They added that 24 passengers sustained serious injuries, while several others suffered varying degrees of injuries and are receiving medical treatment.

According to the statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Engr. Funsho Adebiyi, a total of 442 passengers had booked for the journey, while 40 crew members, security personnel and third-party service providers were on board, bringing the total number of persons on the train to 482.

The ministry said rescue and evacuation operations were immediately activated following the accident, with support from the Delta State Government, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), the Police, Civil Defence, local authorities and other emergency responders.

The rescue efforts, which were completed by 6:30 p.m., also received assistance from the Senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District, Senator Ede Dafinone, and former Delta State Secretary to the State Government, Patrick Ukah.

The ministry and the NRC expressed their deepest sympathies to the families of the deceased and prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured in the accident.

They also commended the Delta State Government, emergency response agencies, security operatives, medical personnel, the NRC Mechanical Directorate and the corporation’s special rescue and emergency team for their swift intervention.

The statement added that a full investigation into the cause of the accident had commenced, assuring that authorities would continue to account for all passengers and provide necessary support to those affected by the tragedy.

Railway

NRC Confirms Warri–Itakpe Train Accident, Three Passengers Dead

Published

3 weeks ago

June 9, 2026

Trends Admin

NRC Confirms Warri–Itakpe Train Accident, Three Passengers Dead

Three passengers reportedly died and many others injured on Monday following the derailment of a train operating on the Warri–Itakpe Train Service (WITS), raising fresh concerns about safety and operational challenges on one of Nigeria’s most important standard-gauge railway corridors.

The accident occurred at Agbor, Delta State, along the Warri–Itakpe route, according to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).

In a statement signed by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NRC, Dr. Kayode Opeifa, the corporation disclosed that rescue and emergency operations were ongoing while efforts were being made to determine the full extent of the accident.

“The Nigerian Railway Corporation confirms that an incident involving the Warri–Itakpe Train Service occurred today. Emergency response teams and relevant authorities are currently at the scene attending to the situation and providing necessary assistance,” the statement said.

The NRC said it was closely monitoring developments and promised to provide further details as investigations progress.

Although the corporation did not immediately state the number of casualties or injuries, sources familiar with the incident said three passengers lost their lives in the derailment.

Monday’s accident is the latest setback for the rail corridor, which has experienced a series of operational disruptions in recent years.

In April 2025, the NRC suspended train operations on the Warri–Itakpe route for 72 hours after a major technical failure left hundreds of passengers stranded in a remote forest area in Kogi State for several hours.

The disruption sparked public outrage and renewed scrutiny of the reliability and maintenance of the service.

The corporation attributed the incident to multiple engine failures and subsequently launched investigations while carrying out repairs before resuming operations.

The Warri–Itakpe line has also faced vandalism of railway infrastructure and security concerns along parts of the corridor.

Commissioned as Nigeria’s first standard-gauge rail line dedicated initially to freight movement before passenger services were introduced, the route links Warri in Delta State with Itakpe in Kogi State, serving thousands of passengers and facilitating the movement of goods across several states.

Transportation stakeholders have repeatedly called for stronger safety measures, improved maintenance culture and increased investment in rail infrastructure to prevent recurring incidents and enhance public confidence in the country’s rail transport system.