Sambo inaugurates 5 modern train coaches in Makurdi

Namadi Sambo, Nigeria’s vice-president, inaugurated five modern 68-seater passenger coaches in Makurdi on Friday.

The coaches were delivered to the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) by a Chinese firm.

The vice-president, who said more train deliveries were still expected before May, added that the inauguration of more trains was part of the transformation agenda of the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

He expressed the president’s determination to revive air transportation and other means of transportation to ease the movement of Nigerians.

“I will like to assure commuters of this service of the corporation’s commitment to providing reliable, safe and affordable train services,” he said.

The vice-president urged NRC to ensure proper maintenance and use of the trains.

Responding, Adeseyi Sijuwade, managing director of NRC, lauded the initiative of the federal government.

He said as part of improvement on the part of the railway commission, Makurdi-Enugu-Port Harcourt inter-city passenger services would operate one return trip per week and increase over time.

“On Tuesdays, the train will run from Port Harcourt to Makurdi, departing from Port Harcourt station at 7 a.m. prompt, passing through Aba, Umuahia, Ovim, Enugu, Otukpo and arriving at Makurdi at 8 pm,” he said.

“On Wednesday, the train will depart Makurdi at 7 a.m. on its way back to Port Harcourt.

“We intend to inaugurate other sections of the line from Makurdi to Lafia, Kafanchan, to Kuru, Bauchi to Gombe with a branch line from Kafanchan to Kaduna by end of February.

“Once the challenge of insurgency is fully addressed, we will be able to complete the rehabilitation of the section from Gombe to Maiduguri. We will also commence train services in the zone, the inauguration of Zaria/ Funtua /Gusau Kaura Namoda , also the Abuja to Kaduna standard gauge line.”

Gabriel Suswam, governor of Benue state, said the commencement of train services in the state would facilitate easy transportation of agricultural products from Benue to other parts of the country.