The Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Dr. Kayode Opeifa, has listed measures that will further support the repositioning of the country’s legacy railway agency, prevent recurrence of accidents, and restore its path to sustainability.
Opeifa, at an interactive session with journalists at the NUJ FCT Centre, Abuja, said he remains focused on providing Nigerians with a new train travel experience, whether on the narrow or standard gauge rail lines.
Among other measures he outlined are institutional reforms, management restructuring, financial sustainability, and deepening customers’ experience, all of which, he said, are part of measures being implemented under his watch.
Also outlined are measures aimed at optimising the use of the two narrow and standard gauges, freight revolution by train, and improving track access managed by state governments. Additionally, the Federal Government is making efforts to complete all ongoing rail infrastructure for national development.
He assured that the Tinubu administration is committed to transforming the railway, adding that most of these initiatives are already nearing fruition.
Opeifa also took time to publicly apologise for the altercation between himself and the Transportation Editor of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), as well as the former National President of the National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Comrade Ladi Bala, and the NTA Management, extending the apology to all Nigerian journalists.
He was reassured of his commitment to deepening the media space and fostering greater collaboration with the media.
Regarding the situation report on the train accident, Opeifa stated that well over 500 of the 618 passengers who travelled on the train have been contacted by the now reorganised customer relations unit of the corporation.
Many of the injured passengers, he added, were traced as far as Zaria, where they were contacted by a team led by himself, the AKTS resident doctor, and the NRC Abuja Liaison Officer.
The NRC chief also disclosed that the third coach has been re-railed, by men of the corporation, making a total of three coaches and a locomotive that have been removed from the scene of the accident.
He said his office is directly monitoring the situation regarding the accident and urged anyone who knows any of the passengers receiving treatment in any hospital to come forward, as the corporation is committed to covering their medical expenses in addition to refunding their travel fares.
He affirmed that the Abuja-Kaduna Train Service is safe and secure, and assured Nigerians of the Federal Ministry of Transportation and the NRC’s commitment to restoring the tracks and resuming commercial operations on the line as soon as possible.
He said the Corporation is poised to strengthen its institutional restrictions, optimise what it has, increase public sector participation in rail development, repair and refurnish all abandoned locomotives and rolling stock, and embark on an aggressive freight rail revolution which is gaining rapid momentum.
Other initiatives are building more collaborations with development commissions and states to adopt the Track Access Program, creating interstate train services for the use of more Nigerians and the continued modernisation of its infrastructure.
Opeifa reiterated that, although the Asham incident is a regrettable development, it has further strengthened his commitment to advancing the realisation of the corporation’s vision 5:10:20. This vision ultimately aims to ensure the adoption of renewable energy for operations, transitioning from diesel to gas, and introducing high-speed trains into the nation’s transportation system with significant Public Private Partnership arrangements to enhance sustainability.
