By Demi Adeniyi
Nigeria’s Minister of Transportation, Muazu Sambo has assured Nigerians that operations would begin on the suspended Abuja-Kaduna standard gauge train service (AKTS) in less than two weeks.
Sambo stated this after inspection of the facilities on the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge rail in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital on Thursday.
The Minister who was accompanied by the Minister of state for Transportation, Prince Ademola Adegoroye, Permanent Secretary of Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Madgalene Ajani, and other top management officers of the Ministry said the train when it eventually resume operations would meet the yearnings of Nigerians in the area of elaborate security cover put in place to prevent a repeat of the dastardly attack on the train.
According to Sambo, we have a target date and Nigerians are interested in the services we render. So far our 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 ensire that we meet the growing demands of our passengers.
“We are proactive, we don’t need to announce what we have done. For instance, every Nigerian that patronises train service had made us to understand that they’re pleased with the services, no challenges or hitches or whatsoever.
Reacting to the question on whether the control room at Ebute Meta in Lagos would monitor activities going on in the train onboard, the minister affirmed that the control room can only monitor the movement of the train but cannot x-ray what’s going on in the train.
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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.
Earlier in his speech, Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Fidet Okhiria appreciated the Nigerian government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari for keeping Railway alive through critical infrastructure development and sustainability of the NRC operations.
Mr. 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 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 in ensuring that all hostages of unfortunate Abuja-Kaduna Train Service (AKTS) were released, before the resumption of the train operations on the Abuja-Kaduna train service. This shows the compassion and empathy of the minister.
We would also appreciate the Minister’s doggedness and commitment towards ensuring that all projects are completed within the time frame and above all, ensuring that the NRC operation adheres to the quality and international best practices,” he added.