Railway
Railway vandals may face death penalty, says Amaechi
The Federal Government is considering capital punishment for railway track vandals in the country, Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, has said.
He stated on Monday in Abuja at a town hall meeting on ‘Protecting Public Infrastructure’.
The meeting organised by the Ministry of Information was attended by community chiefs, security personnel and various stakeholders.
According to Amaechi, rail track vandalism is a capital offence and its consequences should be treated as such.
He said, “I am not quantifying the material cost; what I am quantifying is the lives that will be lost. Imagine that a driver of a rail track is driving and suddenly bumps into a track that has been severed; what happens? It will derail.
“Each coach in Nigeria carries about 85 passengers; sometimes we carry 14 coaches; sometimes 20. So imagine you are carrying a train of 14 or 20 coaches with 85 passengers in each coach, if it derails, can you quantify how many passengers that would die in the course of one man thinking he is making money.
“So, it is not about the cost but the lives that would have been lost because of few people’s interest.
“Some people have recommended that since these people are killing people, if accident happens, people will die, so we should go back to the National Assembly and pass a law that does not only criminalise the action but its consequences should be death.”
The minister noted that if armed robbery, whether successful or not attracted life imprisonment, rail track vanderlism should not be any less punitive.
According to him, the track vanderlism is being done in collaboration with foreign partners.
Amaechi said, “In Jos, they arrested a Chinese company that bought those track materials from them, went to court and court found them guilty and fined them N200,000. So there must be consequences as N200,000 is not enough.”
He commended residents along the Lagos-Ibadan rail track as no incident of vanderlism had been recorded along the route.
He said, “Lagos and the Western District recorded one; North Weste 31; Northern District 10; North East 43; Eastern District 36 and North Central, 50 incidents of vanderlism. Abuja-Kaduna has 13; Warri-Itakpe, two and Lagos-Ibadan, nil.”
He said the ministry and the Nigerian Railway Corporation were working at reducing the rate of vanderlism but a lot still needed to be done.
The minister frowned on the rate at which the tracks was being converted to shops and restaurants, especially in Port Harcourt and Lagos and warned such offenders to desist or be ready to face the penalties.
“The solution is put them in jail; all you need to do is pass a law, put them in jail. I’m sure if you take 15 to 30 people to court and are found guilty, you put them in jail; it will deter others.
The Managing Director, NRC, Mr Fidet Okhiria, also reiterated the need to penalise rail track vandals in the country to serve as deterrent to other people.
He said, “It is dangerous; it can lead to death of people, delays operation and it is cost-effective.
“Due to the vanderlism, we have to send a monitoring train before we send a train, it costs money running in this condition. And in some areas, we are not able to run a train.
“What we are trying to do is to sensitise; let the communities know that government’s property is their own. Know that if you vanderlise the track, you don’t know who will be affected.
“Technology is not cheap and any punishment that will deter these offenders I will support it.”
Railway
Lagos Rail Mass Transit part of FG free train ride – NRC
Lagos Rail Mass Transit part of FG free train ride – NRC
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has disclosed that the Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) trains are included in the Federal Government’s free train ride initiative for the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
The LRMT, which currently includes the Phase 1 Blue Line Rail and the Phase 1 of the Red Line Rail, operates under the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA).
This announcement was made by Ben Iloanusi, the Acting Managing Director of the NRC, during an interview on NTA News TV on Friday, following the launch of the initiative earlier that day.
While Iloanusi stated that Phase 1 of both the Blue Line and Red Line Rail projects are part of the program, LAMATA has yet to confirm this inclusion.
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Iloanusi outlined the other routes benefiting from the scheme, which include the Lagos-Ibadan Train Service, Kaduna-Abuja Train Service, Warri-Itakpe Train Service, Port Harcourt-Aba Train Service, and the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Mass Transit in Lagos. Notably, little was previously known about the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Mass Transit service until this disclosure.
“Let me mention the routes where this free train service is happening. We have the Lagos-Ibadan Train Service, we have the Kaduna-Abuja Train Service, we have the Warri-Itakpe Train Service, we have the Lagos Rail Mass Transit trains, we have the Port Harcourt-Aba Train Service, and we have what we call the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Mass Transit, which is also in Lagos,” he stated.
Iloanusi provided operational updates, stating that passengers nationwide can access free tickets online or, for those unable to do so, at train stations where they will be profiled and validated.
He noted that passengers using NRC-managed services (excluding the Lagos Rail Mass Transit) should reserve tickets via the official website, www.nrc.gov.ng, with a valid ID required. He also advised travelers to plan, arrive on time, and bring valid identification.
Lagos Rail Mass Transit part of FG free train ride – NRC
Railway
NRC announces special Xmas, end-of-year train service
NRC announces special Xmas, end-of-year train service
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) says it will operate an end of the year special train service on all its routes across the country.
It announced this in a statement on Wednesday by its Deputy Director, Public Relations, Yakub Mahmood, saying it was in compliance with the Federal Government’s directive through the Federal Ministry of Transportation.
It however did not indicate if the special train service would be free or not.
The Federal Government last year similarly declared special train services for Christmas and New Year, which were made free for all users.
The statement added the modality for this year’s special service would be released soon.
The latest statement read, “The management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), in compliance with the Federal Government’s directive through the Federal Ministry of Transportation, hereby informs the general public that the NRC shall operate end of the year special train services in commemoration of Christmas and New Year celebrations.
“This end-of-the-year special train service on scheduled passenger trains, is part of the government’s gesture towards an enjoyable end of the year celebration.
“Dates and modalities of the end-of-the-year Special Train Service shall be communicated in due course. We wish all our esteemed customers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in advance.”
Railway
FG hands over $3bn Port Harcourt-Aba railway project to NRC
FG hands over $3bn Port Harcourt-Aba railway project to NRC
The 62-kilometre, $3.02 billion Port Harcourt-Aba railway project has been completed by Federal Government and handed over to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
The Port Harcourt-Aba section is part of the larger Port Harcourt-Maiduguri eastern narrow gauge railway project, initiated under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The project supervisor, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Ayo Dada, formally transferred the railway to the NRC during a brief ceremony held on Thursday in Port Harcourt.
He said that the project, completed in May, had significantly improved passenger movement between Rivers and Abia, thereby enhancing their economies.
“The assets handed over include dismantled tracks measuring 283.060 km, rehabilitated and reconstructed 62.800 km of subgrade and the laying of 62.800 km of rail for the main line,” Dada said.
“This includes the laying of rail for sliding lines covering 5.690 km and the reconstruction of 27 sets of turnouts at Port Harcourt, Elelenwo, Obuzor, Umugo and Aba Stations, among others.”
Dada said that with the handover of the Port Harcourt–Aba section, the Federal Government would focus on the Port Harcourt–Maiduguri phase of the project.
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“The contractor has submitted the technical specifications and maintenance manual for the Port Harcourt–Aba section to the consultants.
“The ministry is committed to completing this project, which will foster national development,” he said.
The Managing Director of the NRC, Ben Iloanusi, commended the Federal Government and the ministry of transportation for the timely completion and transfer of the project.
Iloanusi, represented by the NRC Deputy Manager (Civil), Adesegun Ogunade, said that the railway had greatly benefited Nigerians seeking affordable transportation options.
“The rail line, now in operation, has started mitigating the impact of high transportation costs caused by economic challenges,” he said.
“Train services have been running for some time and passengers have reported that it has made commuting between Port Harcourt and Aba more convenient, faster and cheaper.
“People are already experiencing the benefits of this government’s policies and programmes.’’
He assured that the Port Harcourt–Maiduguri section would also be completed in due course, emphasising that adequate security arrangements had been made to ensure the safety of workers and passengers.
FG hands over $3bn Port Harcourt-Aba railway project to NRC
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