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…blames lack of spare parts for Kaduna breakdown
By Albert Akota
The Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has expressed happiness for the huge turnout of passagers that hit 42,000 in Lagos-Ibadan railway route.
The Minister who was on inspection of the Lagos-Ibadan rail corridor barely a month after its commissioning said over the weekend that the 42, 000 passengers were moved in June and expect the figures to surge in the coming months.
According to him, if they can convey 42, 000 a month after commissioning, then the figures can only increase as more people become aware of the train services.
On the issue with the breakdown of the Abuja-Kaduna train is down to lack of maintenance which is attributable to a lack of spare parts. “We have written to Mr. President on this issue and he has graciously approved the purchase of spare parts for the Lagos-Ibadan trains.
“Very soon, enough spare parts for the Lagos-Ibadan rail will arrive the country.
“By the time this occurs, we will use some of these parts for the Abuja-Kaduna and hopefully, the issue of incessant breakdown of the trains will be resolved.”
According to the Ameachi, the trains that are currently failing were bought in 2016 and had worked perfectly until now that some parts needed to be changed and others serviced.
He revealed that the Nigerian Railway Corporation is finetuning coordination of fully installed communication and signaling system, adding that when that is done, the number of trips on the corridor will be increased from the current 4 trips to 8 per day on the issue of traffic.
Speaking on the poor remuneration and welfare package of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, the Minister admitted that the Corporation ranks least amongst other agencies under his purview, He promised to ensure it is reviewed upwards.
On use of local content for ongoing rail projects, Amaechi said local contractors have failed to meet some prerequisite stipulations such as 5 years’ experience in rail construction.
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