Railway

Crisis brews over plan to unbundle Nigerian Railway Corporation

Published

3 years ago

August 23, 2021

The plan by the Federal Government to unbundle the Nigerian Railway Corporation into four separate companies as part of its efforts to modernise the railway system may run into troubled water unless further consultations are made and the process redirected.

Already, some stakeholders including experts and railway workers’ union have faulted the process, saying proper channel is not being followed by the Federal Ministry of Transportation, which is spearheading the course of action. Indeed, there are indications that the Nigeria

President Muhammadu Buhari has reportedly set up a presidential committee to be chaired by the Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, with a mandate to study the process and make recommendations for the unbundling of the NRC into four separate companies namely: operations, infrastructure management, regulations and marketing.

Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, had earlier said, “I have discussed with the managing director (of the NRC) that there is the need to break Nigerian Railway Corporation into three: One that owns the assets – the tracks and is in charge of maintenance of the tracks and all railway assets and then one that operates. So, you have the Nigerian Railway Corporation that does the running of passenger trains and all that; then you have one that does marketing and all that.”

But Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Railway workers, Segun Esan, said the idea of unbundling the NRC should not be handled by the Transportation ministry, arguing that it was doomed.

Although the NUR secretary, who spoke with our correspondent on Monday via the telephone, said the union was going to meet in a few day’s time on the issue and come out an official position.

He said, “This should not be a preoccupation of the Federal Ministry of Transportation to unbundle the NRC. It is not on its schedule. They are starting on a wrong footing. The union has not deliberated on the matter yet but our position will not be different from what we had struggled against in the past.

“We will meet in the coming days on the issue and give it a thorough analysis to enable us to come out with well informed and dispassionate decision.”

When pressed further to explain what the union’s position had been on similar issues in the past, Esan said, “As much as I don’t want to preempt the union, we all know what happed to NEPA, which was unbundled into Discos and Gencos. They promised us 24 hours of uninterrupted electricity. But the current situation has been on the contrary.”

Although some stakeholders have supported the need to unbundle the NRC into specialised companies, they insisted that it is the duty of the Bureau of Public Enterprise to lead the unbundling process.

The Guardian on Sunday quoted Chief Executive Officer, Bethlehem Rail, London, Roland Ataguba, as saying only the BPE is empowered under the law to restructure public enterprises including the railway.

He said, “With the best will in the world, a patient is unlikely to perform surgery on itself successfully. It will always err on the side of least pain. This would be the second time HMT is setting up a committee “to unbundle” the NRC. The good news is that whatever they come up with has to go to the National Assembly for legislation. We will meet them there.”

Related Topics:Amaechi Esan Featured NUR Unbundling NRC

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Railway

NRC increases trips on Abuja-Kaduna route from four to six

Published

1 day ago

November 14, 2024

Trends Admin

NRC increases trips on Abuja-Kaduna route from four to six

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has announced an increase in the number of trains on its Abuja-Kaduna Train Service (AKTS) route in response to rising demand based on its customer feedback.

A statement signed by the NRC Deputy Director of Public Relations, Yakub Mahmood, on Wednesday, said the number of trains had been increased to six from four, running Monday to Friday during peak periods.

This development, it added, aimed to enhance customer satisfaction by making commuting more convenient and accessible on the route as well as tackling complaints of ticket racketeering.

The statement quoted the acting Managing Director of the NRC, Ben Iloanusi, as saying that a five-month trend analysis revealed a 22 per cent increase in new passengers registering on the ticketing platform for the Abuja-Kaduna route.

The surge, he said, showed a growing preference among Nigerians for train travel as a comfortable, reliable, and safe commuting option.

The statement read, “The Nigerian Railway Corporation, reaffirming its commitment to responding to customer demands, improving customer satisfaction, and tackling complaints of ticket racketeering, has increased the number of train services from four to six from Monday to Friday when demand tends to peak on its AKTS route.”

The NRC also noted that similar trends had been observed on the Lagos-Ibadan, Warri-Itakpe, and Port Harcourt-Aba routes, with efforts already underway to enhance services along these routes as well.

The acting MD assured Nigerians of the increased presence of NRC senior management across all train service routes to drive continuous efficiency and tackle the issue of ticket racketeering head-on.

“Our valued customers are encouraged to use NRC ticket platforms online to take advantage of the increased services and avoid patronising ticket racketeers.

“Additional information can be obtained from the NRC website, www.nrc.gov.ng,” it stated.

The expanded services on the Abuja-Kaduna route, it said, followed similar enhancements on the Lagos-Ibadan route, which now includes additional trips on Fridays and Saturdays to accommodate increasing demand.

Railway

Nigerian railway adds extra train to Friday, Saturday trips on Lagos-Ibadan route

Published

3 days ago

November 12, 2024

Trends Admin

Nigerian railway adds extra train to Friday, Saturday trips on Lagos-Ibadan route

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has announced the introduction of additional train trips on its Lagos-Ibadan Train Service (LITS) route, exclusively for Fridays and Saturdays.

This initiative increases weekend trips from two to three, offering commuters greater travel flexibility.

The announcement, made via the NRC’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday, revealed that the new Lagos-to-Ibadan trip will depart at 1:40 pm, complementing the existing schedules of 7:45 am and 4:00 pm.

For the Ibadan-to-Lagos route, the additional trip is set for 10:50 am, joining the regular departures at 8:00 am and 4:30 pm.

Nigerian railway adds extra train to Friday, Saturday trips on Lagos-Ibadan route

Railway

Nigeria gets $350m AfDB facility for Kano-Maradi rail project

Published

3 weeks ago

October 28, 2024

Trends Admin

Nigeria gets $350m AfDB facility for Kano-Maradi rail project

The Federal Government of Nigeria has secured $350 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to fund the construction of the Kano-Maradi rail project, which will connect Kano to Maradi in Niger Republic.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Land Transport, Senator Adamu Aliero, made this disclosure on Monday during an oversight visit to the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) headquarters in Lagos, as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Aliero stated that the Kano-Maradi rail project is part of the government’s broader efforts to modernize Nigeria’s railway network and enhance regional trade links.