The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has disclosed plans to partner with Rivers, Abia, and other state governments to revive and ensure smooth rail service across the states.
Managing Director of NRC, Dr Kayode Opeifa, disclosed this when he led his team on a familiarisation tour of the Eastern District of the Corporation in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Addressing journalists immediately after the tour, Opeifa said that the corporation had earlier commenced partnership with the Plateau government tagged “Rail on the Plateau”.
During his tour on facilities in the Eastern District office in Port Harcourt, Opeifa stated that the NRC was going to continue the inspection to evaluate how the Rivers State government can key into the project.
Opeifa explained that the narrow-gauge tracks pass through Port Harcourt to Aba, noting that the state government can also participate.
“So, we will be looking at the potential that will make it work. Plateau State has started ‘Rail on the Plateau’, so we’ll see what Rivers State Government will come out with.
“And when we move on from here tomorrow, we will be in Aba, we are also going to examine what goes on in the coaches, and the train. We are also going to witness the return of the train from Aba and speak to some of the passengers to know what they feel. But more importantly, customer service is key.
“We appeal to people from the private sector, if you have the capacity to run services on this track, and you can invest in coaches and locomotives, you are welcome.
“The Aba route is very profitable especially for carriages. There are businessmen and women who wake up in Port Harcourt, end up in Aba in the afternoon, buy their materials, get back to Port Harcourt.. So, we believe there is potential here,” he added.
The NRC chief executive further explained that his visit was part of efforts to dimension the national assets, and to also look at how to revitalise all of them in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda to get railway back to its rightful place in the mobility sector and the Nigerian economy.
He said: “We are here in Port Harcourt in continuation with our national tour and this is the beginning of our tour through the Eastern corridor that spans from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri, and from Port Harcourt to meet the Central line which is Warri.
“The Eastern corridor is so critical and important in the sense that it also leads us to the Western corridor, when you consider extension to the Ports which can be linked together by water going through the integrated multi-boarder system. The Port Harcourt-Aba to Enugu are all through the Enugu corridor. It is also so critical because around Enugu, we have a lot of minerals that move into the port in those days.”
Opeifa continued that the visit was to examine the essence of the narrow-gauge construction that is still ongoing, currently running up to Aba, which he said will run to Enugu very soon.
Blessing Ibunge
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