Rail transport in Nigeria

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Nigerian railway network. Red = standard gauge, Purple = Cape gauge.

Railways in Nigeria consist of a 3,505 km Cape gauge national railway network and 669 km of standard gauge. The Cape gauge network is in poor condition due to lack of maintenance. In 2019, the single operational standard gauge line from Abuja to Kaduna generated as much revenue as the entire Cape gauge railway network combined.[1] The Nigerian government plans to extend the standard gauge to replace most of the Western Line, while the Eastern Line will be rehabilitated as a Cape gauge line. All trains in Nigeria are operated by the Nigerian Railway Corporation.

Railway network[]

Cape gauge[]

The Nigerian railways were originally built by the colonial power, Great Britain. The railways were built to the 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) Cape gauge, the same track gauge used in most other British colonies in Africa.[citation needed]

The country has two major Cape gauge rail lines:

  • The Western Line connects Lagos on the Bight of Benin to Nguru in the northern state of Yobe, over a distance of 1,126 kilometers (700 mi).[citation needed]
  • The Eastern Line connects Port Harcourt in the Southeast to Maiduguri in the northeastern state of Borno, near the border with Chad.

There are also several branch lines:

The 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauge Bauchi Light Railway operated between Zaria and Bukuru over a distance 230 km (143 mi) and was opened in stages between 1912 and 1914. In 1927 the 16 km (10 mi) section between Jos and Bukuru was converted to 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) becoming part of the Kafanchan to Jos branch line. The 2ft 6in Zaria–Jos section continued to operate until 1957 when it was abandoned.[2]

There was also the short-lived 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauge Wushishi Tramway which connected Wushishi with Zungeru (19 kilometres or 12 miles) in 1901 and which was extended in 1902 from Wushishi to Bari-Juko (16 kilometres or 10 miles). It closed circa 1911 with its two Hunslet built 0-6-2T locomotives being transferred to the Bauchi Light Railway.[2]

Mention must also be made of the Lagos Steam Tramway (1902)[3][4] and the Lagos Sanitary Tramway (1906), both of 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauge.[2][3]

There are no railway links with adjacent countries. Nigeria does not use the same track gauge as its neighbours, where the French and German colonial government built metre gauge railway networks. There were plans to establish rail links to Niger through Illela in Sokoto state and Cameroon, but these have not yet been built.[citation needed]

Standard gauge[]

The Nigerian government plans to replace most of the Western Line with the Lagos–Kano Standard Gauge Railway, which is being built in sections by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation. Two sections have been completed and put into operation: Abuja–Kaduna and Lagos–Ibadan.

The Warri–Itakpe Railway connects the port city of Warri with Itakpe. It is fully operational for passenger and freight service, and construction is underway on an extension to Abuja.

History[]

Construction[]

The construction of railways in Nigeria started from Lagos Colony to Ibadan in March 1896, by the British government.

The Lagos Government Railway began operations in March 1901 and was extended to Minna in 1911, where it met the Baro–Kano Railway Station that was built by the government of Northern Nigeria between 1907 and 1911.[5] The two lines were amalgamated in 1912 into the Government Department of Railways, the predecessor to the Nigerian Railway Corporation. The railway reached its northeastern terminus of Nguru in 1930.[6]

After coal was discovered at Udi, the Eastern Railway was built to Port Harcourt between 1913 and 1916. This railway was extended to Kaduna via Kafanchan in 1927, connecting the Eastern Railway to the Lagos–Kano Railway.[7] The Eastern Railway was extended to its northeastern terminus of Maiduguri between 1958 and 1964.[6]

Decline[]

Abandoned locomotive.

Years of neglect of both the rolling stock and the right-of-way have seriously reduced the capacity and utility of the system. Couplings of the ABC kind, vacuum brakes and non-roller bearing plain axles are also obsolete. By early 2013, the only operational segment of Nigeria's rail network was between Lagos and Kano. Passenger trains took 31 hours to complete the journey at an average speed of 45 km/h.[8][9]

Rehabilitation[]

A project to restore Nigeria's railways has been underway since 2009. The eastern line from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri was restored at a cost of US$427 million by Lingo Nigeria, Eser West Africa, and the China Gezhouba Group.[11]

In order to remedy the poor condition, efficiency, and profitability of the nation's railroads, the government is also seeking to privatize the Nigerian Railway Corporation. Under the privatization plan, the railways will be split into three concessions, each to be awarded for a period of 25–30 years.[12]

In 2019, the Cape gauge railways had only 15 functional locomotives.[13] The 187 km Abuja–Kaduna line generated as much revenue in 2019 as the entire 3,505 km Cape gauge railway network combined.[1]

Standard gauge network[]

In 2006, the government contracted with the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) to build the Lagos–Kano Standard Gauge Railway.[14] It was later decided to complete the project in segments due to a lack of funds.[14] After many delays, the segment from Abuja to Kaduna (187 km) opened officially on 26 July 2016.[15] The Lagos–Ibadan section began construction in March 2017 and was inaugurated on 10 June 2021.[14][16] The third section will link Kano to Port Harcourt and Lagos.[14]

The Warri–Itakpe Railway was begun in 1987 as Nigeria's first standard gauge railway, but it was finished in 2020 as the second standard gauge railway. The line was conceived as an industrial railway to supply the Ajaokuta Steel Mill with iron ore from Itakpe and metallurgical coal imported through the port of Warri.[17] Although construction was originally planned to be completed in five years, sporadic funding stretched out the construction period over more than 30 years.[18] In August 2017, the Minister of Transportation announced that the railway would be completed by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation and Julius Berger.[19] On 29 September 2020, the Warri–Itakpe Railway was officially inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari in a virtual ceremony.[20] Construction is underway on an extension to Abuja, where it will connect with the Abuja–Kaduna section of the Lagos–Kano Standard Gauge Railway.[21]

Metro systems[]

Several metro systems are active or under construction:

Maps[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "NRC generated N3bn from train services in 2019 - MD". Pulse Nigeria. 7 August 2020.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Moore, G.S. (July 1964). "Narrow Gauge in Nigeria: Railways of less than the main-line 3ft 6in gauge, and their locomotives". Railway Magazine. Vol. 110 no. 759. pp. 578–581.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Miller, Neville S. (1958). The Lagos Steam Tramway 1902-1933. W. I. Fowler & Son Ltd., London.
  4. ^ Miller, Neville (February 1966). "Nigerian Island Tramway: The erstwhile Lagos Steam Tramway and its unique locomotives". Railway Magazine. Vol. 112 no. 778. pp. 103–106.
  5. ^ Carland, John (1985). The Colonial Office and Nigeria, 1898-1914. Hoover Press. pp. 135–183. ISBN 9780817981433.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Yakubu; et al., eds. (2005). Northern Nigeria: A Century of Transformation, 1903-2003. Kaduna, Nigeria: Arewa House, Ahmadu Bello University. p. 352. ISBN 9789781351426.
  7. ^ Chuku, Gloria (2015). Igbo Women and Economic Transformation in Southeastern Nigeria, 1900-1960. p. 156. ISBN 9781135469405.
  8. ^ Ross, Will (13 February 2013). "Can Nigeria's renovated railway unite north and south?". BBC.
  9. ^ "A slow but steady new chug". The Economist. 9 February 2013.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Komolafe, Oladayo (17 February 2015). "Overseeing the resurrection of Nigerian railways | NAN". News Agency of Nigeria. Archived from the original on 26 July 2016.
  11. ^ Oirere, Shem (1 October 2014). "Insurgents threaten reopening of Nigerian line". International Railway Journal.
  12. ^ Smith, Kevin (16 February 2015). "Privatisation bill for Nigerian railways approved".
  13. ^ Ugbomeh, Fidelis (7 April 2019). "Rail Development Will Boost Economic Growth – Okhiria". Leadership Newspaper.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Getting Nigeria's railways back on track with China's help". BBC News. BBC News. 7 December 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  15. ^ "President inaugurates Abuja – Kaduna railway". Railway Gazette.
  16. ^ Adewole, Segun (10 June 2021). "Buhari inaugurates Lagos-Ibadan Railway project". Punch (Nigeria).
  17. ^ "Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri rail line to start operation in June 2018 - Rotimi Amaechi". Vanguard News. 7 August 2017.
  18. ^ Nnabugwu, Favour (15 August 2017). "FG moves to complete N40bn central rail line". Vanguard News.
  19. ^ "Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri rail line to start operation in June 2018 - Rotimi Amaechi". Vanguard News. 7 August 2017.
  20. ^ Agbakwuru, Johnbosco; Dirisu, Yakubu (29 September 2020). "FG commissions Itakpe-Warri rail line". Vanguard (Nigeria).
  21. ^ Ogunyinka, Victor (11 October 2019). "Nigeria/China deal: FG okays $3.9bn for Abuja-Itakpe rail line". Vanguard News.

External links[]

Media related to Rail transport in Nigeria at Wikimedia Commons

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