Sincere 9gerian: Written by Sunday, 05 January 2014 00:00

Rail as a means of transportation in Nigeria is gradually being resuscitated by the President Jonathan administration after failed attempts by successive governments. In this piece,
TADE MAKINDE reports the response this bold attempt has generated among commuters and the future of this means of transportation.

Adeniji Bolade is a marketer with a detergent company in Ibadan. Early this year, he was transferred to Ilorin, Kwara State, by the company with no increase in wages, neither was he given a transfer allowance. Even at that, he is expected to move the company’s products from Ibadan to Ilorin without provision for transportation. It is a new company trying to survive. Niji has been unemployed for 6 years and is desperate to hold on to his new job.

While he worked in Ibadan, he made an arrangement with a cab driver who helped him move the products once every week to Agbeni market where his major customer re-distributed the product. He makes up for this cost from the special commission he makes for meeting the company’s target every month.

Over time, Niji had saved quite a lot for the rainy day, which came soon after his transfer was effected.

Moving the products to Ilorin by road quickly ate into what he had saved up and was on the verge of buckling after three months when an old school mate advised him to start moving his products by rail. “It is cheaper and even safer”, he had advised, but the young marketer would not consider that option until his mother confirmed the gradual functioning of the railway system in Ibadan.

It is not only in Ibadan that the rail system is now gradually working after almost four decades of neglect by the government, things are looking good in other major rail districts in Nigeria.

After hibernating in Akure, Ondo State, for almost a year following the loss of his job as a top official with a telecommunications company, Tunde Animashaun moved back to Lagos in February to work with a PR Agency in Surulere, Yaba.

While working in Lagos before he lost his job, he had three cars. His new job requires that Tunde, an Executive Director, gets to his new office before 9a.m every Tuesday and Wednesday for management meetings, or his wages would be deducted by an undisclosed amount. “It’s the kind of money I can’t spare”, he admits, hence he resorts to railway trips twice a week and thrice by road.

Every Tuesday and Wednesday, Tunde joins the thousands of passengers who move around Lagos by rail to their different destinations, but in style. For N500, he takes a luxury seat inside the air-conditioned first class coach with other corporate players who like to make London out of Lagos in a train. “The room is for classy passengers. We even get to discuss business without the distraction that comes in a BRT bus or Moolue,”.

It’s not totally true that there are no distractions as urchins. For as little as N50, such category of users pack themselves, like sardine, in the tail end of the coaches. Smelly as that coach is, it is the only section that is always filled to the brim with passengers.

Tina Onagbemi is a 200 level undergraduate at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in Zaria, Kaduna, but lives in Abeokuta, Ogun State. She happened to be on holidays to the hilly city last year when the President made a trip to the city in a train to the delight of many who had desired the revival of the rail transport. The symbolic drive in a train by the president was to draw attention to the once-neglected but alternative ways of moving passengers and products in the country.

These above examples are too few considering the number of people who have now embraced train travels from the north to south and eastern parts of Nigeria.

In fact, the Nigerian Railway Corporation recently informed Nigerians that since the revival of rail travels. The number of users hit the one million mark few weeks ago.

Gradually, the once-moribund corporation is beginning to function, though at a slow pace as workers and passengers both complain of insufficient coaches to mass-transport the ever-increasing patronage of trains.

On a train ride from Ikeja to Ebute Meta recently, it is plain to see that more Nigerians now move around in trains.

Sincere 9gerian: Kano-Lagos route; Lagos-Ilorin-Lagos route and Kano-Lagos-Kano route, carrying on the average, 3,500 passengers, while in Lagos alone, 18 Lagos Mass Transit Trains shuttle about 20,000 passengers everyday between Iddo/Apapa and Agbado/Ijoko.

Also at the Dugbe, Ibadan general office of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), the story is the same as students, traders, tourists, in their hundreds, troop to the now-flourishing office to buy tickets to travel around the country.

With only Mondays and Thursdays off for now, Ibadan-based passengers travel either First class or Second class from (Western), Lagos to Ilorin to Kano, and also Port Harcourt to Maiduguri (Northern).

Of the two lines, only the Western district, headquarters in Ebute Meta, Lagos, is the busiest. It covers Ifo and Jebba south in Kwara State, Ogun, Oyo, Osun State to Kaduna, Kano. Ondo State has been left out “because of the way the state has been constructed”, says Francis Unyimadu District Public Relations Officer of NRC Western District.

In the first class session, the 60 passengers enjoy air conditioner: get to watch movies and also have sleeper cells, depending on the fare, while the 90 passenger capacity second class don’t get to enjoy such luxury.

At N 180 from Abeokuta, to N260 and N340, second class, first class( seater) and first class(sleeper cell) respectively, one could travel to Osogbo, Offa and Ilorin.

For travellers from Osogbo, fares are from N180, N270 and N350, depending on the travel class.

Offa passengers have to pay as much as N280,N410 and N540, while those boarding the train from Ilorin pay anything from N350,N520 and N690.

Once the train takes off from Lagos, it passes through Agbado, Ijoko, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Osogbo, Offa, Ilorin, Jebba, Mokwa, Minna, Kaduna and Kano.
Of course, the 3,500 passengers that are moved weekly by trains on the existing two tracks that link the north and south is insignificant, compared to those who travel the country by air and road, but with time, the District Public Relations Officer believes that more coaches and tracks would be commissioned by the FG to meet demand for train travels.

Even though there are no light trains in the corporations stock, the diesel-powered trains cover Lagos to Kano in less than 24 hours, while Ibadan to Ilorin is done in less than four hours. However, Francis confirmed that the major challenge the commission is grappling hard with, apart from few coaches, is that caused by human beings, not even animals.

According to him, “impatient pedestrians are responsible for level crossing accidents nationwide.

“When trains are entering crowded cities, our officials wave commuters and pedestrian to stop for just few minutes till the trains are gone, but that’s when the impatient ones want to beat the bell and, in their anxiety, their vehicles can get stuck on the tracks. You can imagine what a moving train will do to such vehicles”, he said.

Until three weeks ago, only two lines were in full operation, but very recently, the management of NRC, Eastern district, commenced final reconstruction work in all rail lines within the zone.

The Eastern District manager, Mr. Felijoku, stated on Wednesday that, in a bid to revitalise the rail sector in Nigeria, the federal government had awarded contracts for the rehabilitation work for the Eastern and Western railway lines.

“Most of the track materials required for the eastern line rehabilitation have been imported and delivered to Port Harcourt, to ensure speedy job, the contractor has successfully connected all the missing sections of the lines between Port Harcout and Enugu”.

He added that the NRC had deployed one locomotive and several open flat wagons from Enugu to Port Harcourtt, just as the Nyaba bridge( 15) in Enugu State, the reconstruction of the heavy washed out at Eziama in Abia State, the reconstruction of Bridge 3 in Port Harcourt have all been completed.

Movement of the imported track materials by rail from Port Harcourt to various locations along the eastern rail corridor where they are needed for rehabilitation work has also begun and items to be lifted in the operation include 13, 500 pieces of 12 metre long UIC 50 rails, 165,000 pieces of steel sleepers, associated fish plates , pandrol clips, as well as bolts and knots among other items.

To meet the rising number of passengers thiugh, the NRC commenced its third weekly service from Lagos-Kano inter city route at Ebute Meta.
At the flag off ceremony, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje, chairman of NRC, assured that this action would bring succor to commuters in terms of safety, health and cost

Sincere 9gerian: He expects this service would result in an increase in the number of passengers from 3,500 to 5,500 each week. The commission’s boss also assured Francis and other concerned Nigerians that “the corporation would soon take delivery of two sets of Diesel Multiple Units (DMUS) with four 68-seater modern coaches for mass transit as it has become necessary and inevitable”.

During the Ebute Meta flag-off, Engr. Seye Sijuade told Sunday Tribune that the ever-busy western line will only get busier, while social integration and inter-cultural relationships would be more enhanced and small social trading activities would increase within town and villages along the track corridors.

http://tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/features2/item/30079-will-this-railway-carry-us-home.html

atlwireles: The truth will always come out. Only the children of hate and bitterness refuse to see progress happening in this country.

Obiagelli: This project has been defeated over and over again, only a vision less leader would embark on such. Over 18 billion of wasting away. Recent article in the dailies have proven some of us right. Fantastic for moving cargo, No No for passengers. I fear same fate awaits the phcn.

Sincere 9gerian:
That is your opinion. Unfortunately, the target consumers of the railway services dont share that same opinion. They still troop to the railway stations causing congestion sometimes. Services will improve overtime.

Obiagelli:
even when vanguard says otherwise.
Btw when you say 'target consumers' you mean the poor who deserves the worst while the president orders new planes, when is your sheoless president going to start using the trains? Oh I forgot he is not the 'target consumer'.

Obiagelli:
even when vanguard says otherwise.
Btw when you say 'target consumers' you mean the poor who deserves the worst while the president orders new planes, when is your sheoless president going to start using the trains? Oh I forgot he is not the 'target consumer'.

Sincere 9gerian:
That is your opinion. Unfortunately, the target consumers of the railway services dont share that same opinion. They still troop to the railway stations causing congestion sometimes. Services will improve overtime.

Talking of "visionless leaders", you were refering to Tinubu, who ruled Lagos for 8 years but was clueless as to how build an efficient mass transportation system for the state? No railways, no nothing. Even the metro rail project, started by Jakande in the 80s, could not be resurrected in the colourless 8 year rule of Tinubu. That is a perfect definition of cluelessness

Sincere 9gerian:
I hope your senses of comprehension are still intact? Didn't you see the different categories of couches in that report- first class, sleeper, economy (second class) etc?

atlwireles:

The poor has always been here, how come your hero never gave them that worst train service They gave the poor , no train and dead trap roads. Please tell us another story.

Obiagelli:
if achievements as state governors is anything to go by then gej is a dunce and the poorest of the poor intellectual. Tell me how many states can fund mass light rail transportation. Btw for how many months did the pdp seize lagos fund under Tinubu.
Have you forgotten how the first power plant by a state government was frustrated and hijacked.
Should we turn this thread to a gej vs Tinubu/buhari fight

Sincere 9gerian: Rail transportation was dead in Nigeria. But it is gradually coming back to life. Those who killed the railways are now in APC.

Buhari was PTF chairman for 5 solid years under Abacha, but what did he do about rail transport system? Did he build any bullet trains within that period? Even the line built by the British was left to rot away.

OBJ, who is going to help APC "navigate" Nigeria, was president of this same Nigeria for 8 years. Where is the bullet train that he built?

Tinubu was governor of Lagos for 8 years. What did he do about intra-city rail transport in Lagos?

Hmmm! Yeye dey smell!

Obiagelli:
Is gej riding in any of those couches? Can you place your family in the economy couches? Have you been on any of those rat and cockroach couches oozing with smell of urine. Is this what is obtainable in places like south Africa that we compare our gdp with every day ? Why is your president giving us Bangladesh type development.

Obiagelli:
And places like Bangladesh are already abandoning this type of nonsense you are jubilant over.

Sincere 9gerian:
Why is it tormenting you? Did you read the report at all to see some of the statements made by users? Even in one of the live blogging done by Premium Times reporter on the Lagos-Kano railway, one of the passengers described her journey as "heavenly".

I know all you want to hear are negative testimonies but there are also positive testimonies. The poor services will improve.

atlwireles:

You have to count one before two. Are we not building the standard gauge tracks at the moment in this country What modern rail service did your hero provide in any part of this country??

Obiagelli:
was the railway functioning under buhari? Yes
Were the couches amongst the best in the world then? Yes
Were railway workers the pride of the nation then?
Yes.
Did the elites and middle class use the rail then? Yes

You post reeks of ignorance as usual.

Sincere 9gerian:
Thrash. I was talking of Buhari as PTF chairman in the 90s.

By the way, you must be hopelessly ignorant if you think narrow guage railway was the "best" form of railway in the 80s. Shagari govt started the first STANDARD guage railway in the 80s but it was abandoned by successive govts, including your Buhari.

I have read several accounts of the rot in the railways and even the 80s, the challenges reported by Vanguard were rampant.

Sincere 9gerian:
That is your opinion. Unfortunately, the target consumers of the railway services dont share that same opinion. They still troop to the railway stations causing congestion sometimes. Services will improve overtime.

Talking of "visionless leaders", were you refering to Tinubu, who ruled Lagos for 8 years but was clueless and visionless as to how to build an efficient mass transportation system for the state? No railways, no nothing. Even the metro rail project, started by Jakande in the 80s, could not be resurrected in the colourless 8 year rule of Tinubu. That is a perfect definition of cluelessness and visionlessness

Obiagelli:
if achievements as state governors is anything to go by then gej is a dunce and the poorest of the poor intellectual. Tell me how many states can fund mass light rail transportation. Btw for how many months did the pdp seize lagos fund under Tinubu.
Have you forgotten how the first power plant by a state government was frustrated and hijacked.
Should we turn this thread to a gej vs Tinubu/buhari fight

Obiagelli:
why waste money on that crap in the first place when he could have started standard guage. Let me guess CLUELESSNESS

Obiagelli:
why waste money on that crap in the first place when he could have started standard guage. Let me guess CLUELESSNESS

ba7man: There has never being a project like the light Rail in Nigeria........Now that is Vision.

But there has been Railway trains that move at Top speed of 35km/h in Nigeria since the 19th century...........

Which one represents a vision for the future to you??

Sincere 9gerian:
Excuses, excuses, excuses! When it comes to your masters, you have away of giving reasons they couldn't achieve anything concrete.

So if Tinubu lacked resources to work, does GEJ have access to limitless resources?