10 new coaches for Kaduna-Abuja train to arrive November

Ten coaches procured from China for the AbujaKaduna standard gauge train service will arrive Nigeria in November 2017.

The Managing Director/ CEO, Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Engr. Fidet Okhiria, disclosed this at the sidelines of the Abuja Transport and Aviation Correspondents Association (ATACA) maiden seminar with the theme ‘Forging a Resilient Transportation Industry in Nigeria’.

“The NRC MD, the permanent secretary and other top government officials were in China to inspect the coaches. These coaches are expected in Nigeria in the next six weeks. “They will increase the fleet on the service,” he explained adding that when the new coaches are deployed, the challenges of meeting passenger demands would be surmounted.

Meanwhile, ahead of the deployment of the two locomotives newly acquired for the Abuja-Kaduna standard gauge train service, the NRC has said the training of the drivers that will operate the service will commence this week.

Represented at the event by Mr. Amos Adamu, the Operations Manager, AbujaKaduna Train Service, the MD said already a programme has been developed for the training of the drivers.

The NRC boss also noted that the training of the drivers by the CCECC was supposed to have commenced last week but it didn’t as the NRC management staff were engaged in other critical official endeavours.

On the challenges on the Abuja-Kaduna train service, the NRC boss said, communities around the train corridor sometimes hurl stones at the train or place stones on the rail track adding that the culprits are mostly little children and it was prevalent around Rijana to Dutse train stations.

Mr. Okhiria however noted that, the NRC has begun sensitizing the communities around the rail corridor on the dangers of their behaviour.

“We have started visiting some of the communities to sensitize them about the dangers. But most of them are small kids and sometimes they put big stones on the tracks. We are sensitizing the communities along the corridor,” he assured.

He also disclosed that already, fencing of the AbujaKaduna rail service has commenced. The fencing is expected to keep animals away from the tracks ahead of the impending increase in the speed of the service.