Why FG opted for cheaper rail line on Eastern corridor – Amaechi

 

BY KAZIE UKO

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Nigeria’s Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, says the federal government opted for the narrow gauge as against the more popular standard gauge on the Eastern railway corridor because of price differential.

The Lagos-Abuja-Kano rail and the Katsina-Niger Republic line as well as the Abuja-Kaduna line were all designed as standard gauge lines.

Amaechi explained that it costs far much less to rehabilitate the existing narrow gauge that runs from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and connecting the South East states all the way to Maiduguri, in the North East.

He assured that narrow gauge rail line was not inferior to the standard gauge line.

In a statement by his media aide, Taiye Elebiyo-Edeni, on Sunday in Lagos, the minister said that the only difference between the two lines was speed.

Amaechi, who was reacting to allegations by some stakeholders that the narrow gauge line was inferior, sub-standard and outdated in other parts of the world, explained that the Eastern rail line was going to have both the narrow and standard gauges, adding that the cost of the standard gauge, feasibility and time frame informed the choice.

The minister said it was cheaper to rehabilitate the narrow gauge, which would cost about $3.2 billion and could be delivered within the approved time frame.

According to Amaechi, the standard gauge line was going to cost between 11 to 14 billion dollars to construct, adding that getting the funds within the limited time was not feasible because of other projects awaiting funding.

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“The standard gauge line is between 11 to 14 billion dollars to construct on the Eastern flag, the standard gauge as designed in Nigeria is 150km design speed, operational speed is 120km; what is the difference between 120km and 100km? The narrow gauge is about $3.2 billion at 100km per hour.

“The standard gauge, which is at 11 to 14 billion dollars, is 120km per hour. So, if you take off with the standard gauge, let’s say to Damaturu, you will arrive 20 minutes before me that use the narrow gauge.

“The narrow gauge is cheaper at 3 billion dollars against the 11 to 14 billion dollars to construct the standard gauge. Why we did not get the approval for the narrow gauge on time was because of the President’s insistence on the standard gauge from Port Harcourt-Maiduguri.

“My argument was if I can achieve the same length of rail with 3 billion dollars why not take that first until when we get money, we can now go for the standard gauge.

“The difference made him approve the standard gauge as designed but until we get the money, because if we continue to wait until we get the 11 billion to 14 billion dollars, we may not be able to construct the Eastern flag before we leave government,” Amaechi said.

On his part, the Managing Director, Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), Mr Fidel Okhria, said that the narrow gauge line was not outdated or less efficient, stating that there should not be a comparison.

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Okhiria said that Nigeria was the first African country to introduce standard gauge line, noting that South Africa and other African countries still use the narrow gauge lines.

“In the whole of Africa, Nigeria is the only country that has introduced a standard gauge line.

“South Africa, India and other countries are still using the narrow gauge lines introduced by their colonial masters, other African countries are still using what the colonial masters constructed.

“The Eastern rail line has both the standard and the narrow gauge lines to be constructed; the narrow gauge will be rehabilitated now because the fund is available but the reality of getting the 13 billion dollars now to construct the standard gauge line is not feasible.

“So, the narrow gauge is not inferior in anyway, the difference is in the speed and it cannot carry more load like the standard gauge because the standard gauge is wider while the narrow gauge is narrower which doesn’t make it less effective than the standard gauge.

“About the cost, there should be no comparison with the cost because one is $13 billion while the other is about 3.2 billion dollars, 10 billion dollars difference.”

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The Director, Rail and Transport Services, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Mr Muhammad Baba-Kobi, also said that the difference between the narrow and the standard gauge rail lines is the width within the inner edge of the track which is called the gauge.

He said that the narrow gauge in Nigeria is about 1,067mm which is about 3ft, in some countries it is 600mm which is 2ft while the standard gauge is 1,437mm which is a little bit more than 4ft.

Baba-Kobi said that there were other gauges like the Broad Gauge with 1,670mm and the 2,000mm gauge with a wider distance.

He explained that the use of any of the gauges is by choice, noting that places with hilly and curve terrain like Port Harcourt-Maiduguri corridor, the narrow gauge would be the best because it is easy to negotiate curves and it is lighter.

“The choice of one or the other relies on certain factors, either you put the standard or narrow gauge, you will still have an efficient and functional trains; it just depends on your operational planning, it depends on where you want to take your train to,” Baba-Kobi said.