Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Fidet Okhiria, said rail will emerge as the leader in Nigeria’s transport system when connectivity with all state capitals, including the Federal Capital Territory, and major industrial hubs is achieved.
Okhiria said this would lead to the facilitation of effective distribution of goods, farm produce and services while creating more jobs for Nigerians, enhancing urban development and addressing rural-urban migration challenges.
He stated this during a technical paper presentation on harmonised national railway development policy as a panacea for boosting regional rail development and investments in sub-national at the Nigeria Transport Commissioners’ Forum held in Lagos.
Okhiria who was represented by Director of Civil Engineering and New lines, NRC, Ayeni Adekunle, said the railway transport sub-sector will create a platform for smart cities in Nigeria, while also facilitating linkages to agricultural hubs for the movement of raw materials to the industries and other areas of need.
He said it would help to reduce road congestion and increase the lifespan of the highways, while also reducing pollution resulting from carbon emissions. It will also generally improve the welfare and lifespan of the citizenry.
While explaining the Public Private Partnership (PPP) participation in the rail project, he said NRC has a partnership with the Osun State Government on the movement of passengers from Lagos to Osun State during the festive seasons.
He stated that discussions are at an advanced stage with the Plateau state government to commence a mass transit train service. The state believes this will alleviate the suffering of its people occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidies.
He added that similar discussions are ongoing with the Kaduna state government for the commencement of a mass transit train within the metropolis, while the Niger state Government is also having similar conversations on partnering with the corporation to enhance rail transportation in Niger state to reduce the burden on the roads while also facilitating the movement of food products from the hinterland to the urban markets.
Also speaking, Director-General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, Michael Ohiani, said rail transport plays a catalytic role in bringing about socio-economic development. It contributes substantially to the movement of passengers and freight.
Ohiani who spoke on ‘exploring strategic financing options for rail infrastructure development and investments in sub-nationals’, said indeed, railways can provide the most cost-effective, affordable, energy and environmentally-friendly form of transport when traffic densities are high.
According to him, when properly integrated with other modes of transport, economic levels of traffic can be consolidated to enable the railway to provide efficient services for high-density flows of homogenous traffic carried over relatively long distances, including high volumes of containerized cargo or bulk freight such as oil, coal, steel or agricultural produce.
He said rail transportation enables transporting raw materials, moving passengers and freight over long distances. Intermodal rail tends to operate on a sub-system linking major port gateways to inland centres.
He said no other land transportation mode has the capacity of rail as a standard wagon has a much higher load capacity than a lorry trailer, more than three times that of a truck, with the added advantage of railways being able to use open platforms.
According to him, compared to other modes of transport, rail is cheaper to transport goods and passengers via train than by car or plane. Although rail transportation has high construction and maintenance costs, trains have a higher carrying capacity, enabling more cargo to be carried at one time and this results in lower transportation costs.
He said rail transport accelerates the industrialisation process, as in several countries, the emergence of rail transportation was concomitant to an industrial take-off. It also accelerates economic development and human settlements.
