Nigerian Railway Corporation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Nigerian Railway map

Nigerian Railway Corporation (commonly abbreviated as NRC) is the government body operating railways in Nigeria.

1 Infrastructure and operations
2 History
3 Status in 2008
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Infrastructure and operations

Nigerian Railway Corporation operates a network of 3,505 kilometers (2,178 mi) of single track lines, all have 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge. The network comprises the following lines:

Lagos - Agege - Ifaw - Ibadan - Ilorin - Minna - Kaduna - Zaria - Kano, 1,126 kilometers (700 mi)
Ifaw - Ilaro, 20 kilometers (12 mi)
Minna - Baro, 155 kilometers (96 mi)
Zaria - Kaura Namoda, 245 kilometers (152 mi)
Kano - Nguru
Kaduna - Kafanchan - Kuru - Bauchi - Maiduguri, 885 kilometers (550 mi)
Kuru - Jos, 55 kilometers (34 mi)
Kafanchan - Makurdi - Enugu - Port Harcourt, 737 kilometers (458 mi)

There are a few extensions of the 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge network planned, but none of these have ever materialized since 1980, from Gusau on the branch to Kaura Namoda to Sokoto, 215 kilometers (134 mi), from Kano to Katsina, 175 kilometers (109 mi), and from Lagos to Asaba.

in the centre of the country a 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in) gauge (standard gauge) network is very slowly progressing, its main line extends over 217 kilometers (135 mi) from Oturkpo to the Ajaokuta steelwork. A further 51.2 kilometers (32 mi) line of standard gauge is operational between the Itakp mines and the Ajaokuta steelworks. There are plans to add more standard gauge lines to these ones: Ajaokuta to Abuja and Ajaokuta to the Port of Warri, together 500 kilometers (311 mi) and from Port Harcourt to Makurdi over a distance of 463 kilometers (288 mi).

in the past a 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauge line operated between Zaria and Jos over a distance of 194 kilometers (121 mi), but this line has been closed and lifted long ago

All these trains are offering relatively new rolling-stock consisting of Couchette-type sleepers, air-conditioned first class sitting coaches and non-air conditioned economy class coaches. Trains to/from Lagos are also offering buffet cars. Between Lagos and Ifaw, a distance of 48 kilometers (30 mi), a local service is operating on working days on behalf of the city of Lagos.

All trains are diesel locomotive operated. The railways owns theoretically nearly 200 locomotives, of which up to 75% are not operational, there are also about 54 shunters, 480 passenger coaches and over 4900 freight wagons, less than 50% of the coaches and wagons are in serviceable conditions.

At all 576 kilometers (358 mi) of main lines are controlled by panel interlocking and tokenless block. Rail tracks are mainly of the 29.8 kg/m, 34.7 kg/m and 39.7 kg/m types fixed by Pandrol K Type fastenings on steel sleepers (cross ties).

[edit] History

NRC went more than once into bankruptcy during the last 20 years. Lack of maintenance on infrastructure and rolling stock and a high number of employees the railway produced huge deficits, not taken over by the state. In 2005 after several re-organisations of the system passenger transport was reduced to four departures weekly from Lagos of which two went to Kano, one to Jos and one to Maiduguri; from Port Harcourt four trains every week ran to Kano (two weekly), one weekly to Jos and one to Maiduguri.

News from Nigeria are indicating that the current (2006) government wants to rebuild more or less the entire existing 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) network to standard gauge.

[edit] Status in 2008

According to the critique by Mazi Jetson Nwakwo, acting managing director of the NRC the rail system is suffering from the lack of political will by the nation's politicians. While the NRC had employed about 45,000 people between 1954 and 1975, current employment is only 6,516.^[1] He pointed out that no new wagons had been bought since 1993, and some wagons date back to 1948. Track condition limit trains to a speed of 35 km/h.