P’Harcourt-Maiduguri train service to kick off December –Minister Nigeria’s Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Audu Umar has revealed that the eastern corridor of Port Harcourt-Maiduguri train service will kick off by the end of 2013. The minister added that over 90 percent of the existing 3,505km narrow gauge in all parts of the country is ongoing and at various stages of completion. “The cheering news is that over 90 per cent of the existing 3,505km narrow gauge lines in all parts of the country is on-going and at various stages of completion. The western corridor, Lagos-Kano passenger and freight train services kicked off in December 2012 while the Eastern corridor, Port Harcourt-Maiduguri will kick off by the end of 2013,” Umar revealed. Senator Umar also debunked claims that the ongoing total transformation of the railway sector in Nigeria has been marred by high consultancy fees as reported by some sections of the Nigerian media. Speaking to Sunday Sun through his special assistant on media, Innocent Ebirim, Senator Umar said contrary to the prophecy of doom that the high cost of feasibility may derail the rail transport system, the rehabilitation, modernisation and stabilisation of railway transportation is fully on course and that nothing can derail the current efforts by the federal government at standardising railway transportation in the country. “The news story that the high cost of feasibility studies may mar the revival of rail transport is speculative, illogical and wrong concept, fabricated conjecture and may have been the concoction/orchestration of falsehood by some interest groups in the transport sector who may want to use the mischievous and wicked lie to gain some parochial advantages.”
Posted on: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 09:56:18 +0000
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