NRC: Rail security now improved — more personnel deployed from DSS, police, NSCDC

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) says the level of security for travel by train has been improved significantly.

Fidet Okhiria, managing director of the NRC, disclosed this on Sunday in an interview with NAN in Abuja.

In October, rail operations on the Abuja-Kaduna route were cancelled for two days after bandits attacked a train.

According to Okhiria, a lot of measures have been put in place to ensure safety of travel by rail in the country.

“We have a lot of DSS who are working unnoticed and most of the time, we have information beforehand and we pass it to the appropriate quarters,” he said

“We have increased the number of people we have on the train — both the civil defence, the police; both uniformed and non-uniformed; those armed and not armed.

“You cannot guarantee everything, but we are hoping that with what has been put in place, things will be better. And we are taking security issues at the very highest level.”

The NRC boss also expressed optimism that more areas in the country, within the next five to 10 years, would be linked by rail.

“I think in five years, we will be hoping that somebody can leave Lagos and get to Abuja within eight hours by rail,” Okhiria said.

“We have several projects on the eastern axis, and all those contracts have been signed, but the finance people are looking for the funds to ensure the contractors move to site.

“We also have the contract for Calabar to Lagos; the coastal rail. We also have the Itakpe-Warri being completed to link from Itakpe to Abuja. So, if you link Itakpe to Abuja, it means people can leave Warri to Kano because the Kano-Kaduna is ongoing.

“Formations are being put in place and with the timeline, we are hoping that by December this year, the track would have been laid.

“Also, the eastern line has an expansion that when it gets to Benin, it will come to Agbor, Agbor to Onitsha, Onitsha to Awka, Awka to Enugu and to Abakaliki.

“And we also have plans to link the deep sea in Rivers state and then link Owerri and come back to Enugu. And from Damaturu, we also do the one going to Maiduguri. We just hope that the economy improves and we’re able to get funding.”