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EKO HOT BLOG reports the process of handing over operations of a newly commissioned standard gauge Lagos-Ibadan railway has begun, with a Chinese construction company training some NRC workers on technical aspects of the operation.
The one-month training for NRC employees was organized by the contractor, China Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation (CCECC).
According to reports, the 157-kilometer standard gauge began full commercial operation in June 2021, following President Muhammadu Buhari’s commissioning, and it is largely operated by Chinese, with a handful of NRC workers serving as understudy.
The training is part of a long-term plan to hand over the operation to Nigerians, which was outlined in a contract signed by the federal government with a Chinese firm in which Nigerians were trained on various aspects of railway operations, including sub-grade and structures, permanent way and equipment introduction, stations and signaling, communication, and power supply systems.
Engr. Xia Lijun, CCECC’s Deputy Managing Director, stated that the training was part of the procedures to be followed prior to the final handover of the entire Lagos-Ibadan railway system.
He stated that there is no doubt that the training program provided the participants with a wealth of experiences.
Lijun emphasised that the experience garnered so far would make the operation of the dedicated railway highly functional and meet up with the purpose for which the project was designed.
He enjoined all the trainees to be highly focused with full confidence in administering the knowledge already gained from the comprehensive training programme in both theory and practical processes.
Managing Director of NRC, Engr. Fidet Okhiria said the training was the first of its kind in the history of railway modernization which started a long time ago.
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He stated that the knowledge garnered would help in improving the infrastructure the government is handing over to the NRC.
Speaking on behalf of the trainees, Mrs Kemi P. Ogbonna, District Superintendent Western District, said the training had exposed them to the rudiments of running and maintaining a new railway such as the new Lagos Ibadan standard gauge.
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