New Rules To Guide The Resumption Of Abuja-Kaduna Rail Track — FG

The Federal Government has given the criterion for the resumption of the Abuja-Kaduna train service operation.

In a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the train service was put on hold by March 2020

Minister of Transportation. Rotimi Amaechi. has made it clear that each coach will now carry 40 passengers as against 88 number of passengers it carries before the pandemic to comply with social distancing rule.

Also, he said the ticket fare would double because of adherence to social distancing as proposed by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.

The number of Police officers onboard each coach would increase to enforce the COVID-19 guidelines, he said.

The Minister disclosed these on Saturday in Agbor while having ride to test run the Warri-Itakpe rail track.

He said President Muhammadu Buhari may commission the Warri-Itakpe rail track after it is handed over to the Ministry and the Nigerian Railway Corporation.

The Minister also disclosed that the Agbor Station and its entire facilities have been named after former President Goodluck Jonathan.

On the progress of work on Warri-Itakpe track, he said: “I think what brought us is to see that the project has been completed. I have just been briefed that Julius Berger has parked out and CCECC is mounting a little pressure for us to take over so that they can also quit.

Read also: Late Edo Former Speaker’s Wife, Son Kidnapped In Kogi While Taking Corpse For Burial

“NRC and the ministry will take over. I have told Director Rail and the Managing Director of NRC to make arrangements for them to do their final inspection and then take over from CCECC and Julius Berger and then we will move on from there.”

On when the project would be commissioned, he said: “That will be dependent on the ability of the ministry to convince the presidency that we are ready for commissioning because it is the President that will do that and we are thinking about virtual commissioning.

“The camera will testify that this is a good job. This is the Goodluck Jonathan Agbor Station which incorporates the railway facilities which you just visited.

“It was named after Goodluck Jonathan and the President approved it. Agbor station and the yard  and the facilities were named after President Jonathan.”