- A new era unfolds as Nigeria’s first high-speed, standard gauge rail line flags off
It may be no exaggeration to assert that Nigeria finally joins the rank of developed and industrial world only yesterday when her first standard gauge, double track rail line was opened. It was a moment of joy and back-slapping as President Muhammadu Buhari flagged off the 186.5 kilometres Abuja-Kaduna line built at a cost of $1.46 billion.
The rail line project which was initiated by the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration in 2009 was built in the main by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, with the current government putting the finishing touches.
Regardless of the fact that the standard gauge system had been in existence for about 200 years, it is indeed a feat worthy of celebration that Nigeria eventually achieved it. The import of this is that our rail system would be more versatile and better connected than before. This means there will be less derailments and accidents while services will be better scheduled and faster.
The double track lines have nine stations and can travel as fast a 150km per hour, conveying over 500 passengers per trip.
More important, a more expansive rail system on the busy Abuja-Kaduna corridor promises improved movement of commuters, goods and machinery. There will be less vehicular traffic, less wear-and-tear on the roads and of course, less accidents. The benefits are more numerous than can be captured here. We can only hope that railway development in Nigeria can be aggressively pursued as has been enunciated by President Buhari at the historic event.
Hear him: “I wish to assure Nigerians that most state capitals and major commercial and production centres will be linked with the railway system as a way of bringing rapid socio-economic development and improving the quality of life of Nigerians, and promoting social and regional integration.”
There is also a 25-year Strategic Railway Master Plan aimed at rehabilitating the existing 3,505 kms of narrow gauge rail line into standard gauge rail line across the country. The president also promised to pursue with vigour, the rehabilitation and construction of other major rail lines like Lagos-Calabar and Kano-Lagos lines.
With major cities and state capitals of the country interlinked with standard rail lines, Nigeria would have been set on the path of her first industrial revolution and a new era of economic development.
One must commend the roles of the Chinese government for providing the bulk of the finance grant and the China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) for delivering on the project. It is remarkable that it took the Chinese to introduce modern railways to Nigeria while the British government which colonised and took advantage of Nigeria’s natural resources only built self-serving narrow-gauge lines across the country.
To think that the London Underground metro lines were built about 150 years ago and coupled with the fact that rail technology was invented and modernised by the British who exported it to far-flung colonies like the United States, Canada, India and Pakistan, among others! But rail transportation in Nigeria remains stagnated over the years much like most other sectors.
While we commend the Buhari administration for speedily crossing the ‘Ts’ and dotting the “Is’ of this project, it is noteworthy that in all the fanfare and self-adulation of the inauguration ceremonies, no mention was made of the past administrations that conceived and toiled over this historic project for nearly 10 years.
We are of the opinion that former President Jonathan ought to have been given ample credit, if not a pride of place, at the ceremony. Apart from exemplifying statesmanship, it would have symbolised the importance of continuity in government, among other salutary imports that singular gesture would have imbued on the polity.
We, however, are on to a new age, especially if the new facility is well maintained, managed and run according to global standards.
