Abuja-Kaduna passenger train  service to resume month-end soon, says minister 

Nigeria’s minister of transportation, Muazu Sambo has assured Nigerians that the Abuja-Kaduna passemget train service will kick off in less than two weeks.

Sambo stated this on Thursday after inspection of the facilities on the Lagos-Ibadan standard Guage rail in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.

The Minister who was accompanied by the minister of state for transportation state, Ademola Adegoroye, permanent secretary federal ministry of transportation, Madgalene Ajani amongst other staff said the ministry is proactive and determined to meeting the demands of all passengers.

According to Sambo, the ministry of transportation have a target date and Nigerians are interested in the services being render.

Fielding questions on the ability of 

ministry coping with increasing number of passengers, Sambo declared that, so far the train service is not oversubscribed.

“We don’t have more than 24 hours a day, but you need to use this train services within the hours we have in a day and we would meet the demands of our passengers. We are proactive, we don’t need to announce what we have done. For instance, every Nigerian that patronize train service has made us to understand that they’re pleased with the services, no challenges or hitches or whatsoever”.

He expressed satisfaction over the facilities inspected, adding that  the passengers that were randomly sampled have proven that the train service is a welcome idea.

Managing director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC),Fidet Okhiria appreciated the the federal government for keeping railway alive through critical infrastructure development and sustainability of the NRC operations.

Okhiria maintained that Railway transportation is one of the corner stones of economic growth and development of any country, through mass movement of freights and people, thereby creating direct and indirect job opportunities, urbanization, business expansion and social integration for peaceful coexistence.

He further stated that, in the recent times, NRC has been facing some challenges which include; security and vandalization , but we thank the minister and his team for their efforts towards ensuring that the railway corridors are now properly secured for the safety of our esteemed passengers and other stakeholders.

“I commend the efforts of the minister by ensuring all hostages of Abuja-Kaduna Train Service AKTS infamous train attack were released before the resumption of the train operations on the Abuja-Kaduna train service. This shows the compassion and empathy of the minister”.

The NRC boss said he would also appreciate the minister’s doggedness and supervisory commitment towards ensuring all projects are completed within the time frame and adhering to the quality and international best practices”. he added.

 MIKE OCHONMA