The Nigerian Railway Corporation states that the federal government has commenced the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Eastern railway corridor.
Victor Adamu, the railway district manager of the Eastern District, Enugu, stated this while responding to a national survey conducted on the abandonment of railway lines in the country, in Enugu on Wednesday.
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Mr Adamu said that the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the narrow-gauge tracks had commenced from Port Harcourt to Aba, in Abia State.
According to him, the narrow gauge traversed the eastern district, from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri and other parts of Nigeria.
“This district covers Enugu, Abia, Ebonyi, Rivers and part of Egbede in Benue State, which is our boundary with the north-central district of about 110 kilometres. I am very happy to state that the segment of the contract was handed over to NRC on November 28, 2024.
“We have our coaches that are running from Port Harcourt to Aba and back to Port Harcourt five days a week,” he explained.
He acknowledged that there was a suspension of work from Aba to Umuahia, and then down to Enugu.
Mr Adamu, however, said that the federal government is doing everything possible to ensure that the construction and rehabilitation on the remaining part of the contract commence soon.
The district manager explained that, through the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, work on the narrow gauge had resumed.
“This is a project which the Southeast and other parts of the country will benefit from. The federal government is doing a lot to see that the rail lines are working again.
“Sometime in April, the managing director of NRC, Kayode Opeifa, visited Enugu, and we had some meaningful discussions with the governors of Abia and Enugu states. I believe that the visit will really bring out a lot of things that are going to happen on this corridor,” he said.
According to Mr Adamu, a policy introduced by Mr Tinubu’s administration allows state governments to invest in railways.
He disclosed that the Anambra, Abia and Enugu state governments were ready to key into the policy.
“With this, I believe that very soon, we will start seeing the dividends from these policies,” Mr Adamu said.
He, however, described the activities of vandals as the biggest challenge to the NRC, especially concerning their track materials and other facilities.
According to him, in securing the railway infrastructure, NRC is working with the police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, the military, and vigilante groups.
Mr Adamu said that through the collaboration of the NRC, police, military and NSCDC, they made arrests of suspected vandals, and some of them were already facing trials.
“There are some suspected vandals that were arrested in Imo, Rivers and Enugu states. We are doing these because these facilities are meant for Nigerians, and we are expected to own them as Nigerians.
“This will go a long way in keeping them intact. Our officials are still going around to see that these facilities are protected,” the district manager said.
Railway operations stopped in Enugu for over two decades.
(NAN)