By Fidelis Ugbomeh
Since President Bola Tinubu promised to restore the Eastern rail network, there has been widespread reactions by some stakeholders about feasibility of the project and benefits derivable.
The President’s announcement during a recent visit to Enugu State is coming several years after suspension of passenger and freight train services in the eastern flank especially due to insurgency and vandalization of some sections of the tracks.
The Eastern rail network covers: Port-Harcourt to Aba-67 kilometres, Aba to Enugu-167 kilometres, Enugu to Makurdi-220 Kilometres and Kaduna to Kafanchan–179 kilometres.
It also extends from Kafanchan to Jos-101 kilometres, Kafanchan to Bauchi-238 kilometres and Bauchi to Maiduguri-302 kilometres.
However, last year operation of the Port-Harcourt-Aba rail corridor, was restored after replacement and repair of the vandalized sections by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation in collaboration with Nigerian Railway Corporation.
Mr.Janathan Ikhafia, a former Medical Record Director, Railway Medical Hospital, Lagos said that after flagoff of rehabilitation of the eastern rail network by former minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and subsequent commissioning of the first phase by the present minister Senator Alkali Sa’iad Ahmed last year, the service has significantly enhanced and provided comfort, affordability and safe movement of passengers and freight between Port-Harcourt and Aba both of which are major trade centres.
While describing promise to restore train service in the eastern corridor as timely especially now that our roads are death traps waiting to happen he stated further that restoration of the eastern corridor of narrow gauge railway line would boost commerce and enhance movement of livestocks and agricultural products.
Ikhafia noted that hitherto, agricultural products and livestocks from Benue and Gombe were evacuated respectively by rail to the southern parts of the country while imported goods were moved by traders from the seaport in Lagos to the Northern parts of the for sales
In his own remarks, Director of Operations, Bueno Logistics Limited, Mr. Paul Ndibe said the easterners are reputed for trade and commerce in the country and there is no way trade can be boosted without logistics.
He explained that the level of trade between the north and south has reduced to its lowest ebb due to reliance on road mode of transport for the evacuation of goods.
Ndibe restated that the President’s announcement if implemented will revive trade and commerce and by extension create job opportunities for teeming Nigerians.
He advised that after the restoration of train service in the entire railway narrow gauge network, there should be a policy geared towards encouraging carriage of certain categories of bulky goods and livestocks by rail.
The director operations also said that now that the cost of fuel/diesel has increased, it will be more economical to move food crops and other categories of goods enmass through railway.
He pointed out that apart from restoration of train service, the government should address the problem of rolling stocks including: procurement of Locomotive engines, coaches, petrol tank wagons, open roof wagons for containers and spare-parts.
Ndibe who retired from the corporation as a district manager stated that barely few Locomotive engines are currently available in the narrow gauge fleet of the corporation.
“Some of the Locomotive engines in the narrow gauge fleet of the corporation were imported over 30 years ago and their spare-parts cannot be bought off the shelves,” he said.
Ndibe posited that the government should revisit the issue of distribution of petroleum products through fuel tankers by road and danger inherent.
He stressed that distribution of petroleum products by road should be within the states while products for long distance should be distributed through railway.