The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has announced that the Kaduna-Kano rail project is scheduled to become operational in 2026, with the Lagos-Kano-Maradi project set for completion in 2027.
Kayode Opeifa, managing director of NRC, disclosed this in an exclusive interview during a courtesy visit to the headquarters of the Media Trust Group in Abuja recently.
The Kano-Maradi is scheduled for 2027, and it is part of the LAKAJI (Lagos-Kano-Jibiya) rail project. However, the Kaduna-Kano express is scheduled for completion this year.
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“So you can see the two of them are ongoing and carried out by the Federal Ministry of Transportation, and I know the Minister at every opportunity speaks to this train service, and when that is completed, we only have services in full, and Nigerians will be able to travel from Abuja to Lagos and Abuja to Kano,” Opeifa said.
He also stated that individuals conducting business with neighboring countries, such as the Republic of Niger, will be able to transport their goods from the Lagos port to the Republic, and Nigeria will become a hub for the landlocked Sahel countries.
Opeifa also addressed the issue of the Lagos-Kano narrow gauge express service, which has been suspended for some time now, noting that the route is facing a lot of washouts and security-related issues.
“Between Niger and Kwara, there are security issues which the two state governments have vowed to manage. But more importantly, what is disturbing the Lagos-Kano express service is not security. It is the washouts.
“There are so many parts of the track that are washed out like you have in Mokwa and other locations. Also in Kaduna, we are fixing that as soon as we have the necessary resources to fix it,” he said, while noting that it will take six months.
“But currently, we still run Lagos to Oshogbo for Salah. This Ramadan season, we are looking at all the factories, from Lagos to Ilorin, except that we may not go beyond Mokwa until we fix the Mokwa, which was a result of a washout. So the washouts are the issues, and it’s a priority,” he said.
On the distortions in timing on the Abuja-Kaduna train, he said the Corporation hoped to increase it to three trips, saying, “After we’ve increased it to three trips, we can take off from Abuja twice and from Kaduna once, and on the other day, you take off from Kaduna twice and Abuja once. So alternatively, the train will be taking off from Abuja and Kaduna. And ending up wherever you took off from to rest.” Opeifa said.
He further said that they are working hard to get the second train back on track. That is the medium time. So the three trips are a short start, “and that should surface any time from now. You also know we have a time restriction of when the train cannot move, that’s 6 p.m. So as soon as we get out of these time restriction issues, we will start the three trips.
“Once we get the three trips, I’ll focus on our shift to getting the second train. And just to let you know, it takes 12 to 15 months to get a train to deliver to you,” Opeifa stated.
On the issue of racketeering, he stated that the Corporation has put a double-layer screening, which has drastically reduced the issue of racketeering.
