NRC Northern District Appeals For More more Locomotives, Wagons, Couches, Spare Parts

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By; SANI ALIYU, Zaria

The outgoing Regional District Manager, Northern District of Nigeria Railway Corporation, Engr. Ismail Adebiyi has appealed for more locomotives, wagons, couches and spare parts in the district to scale the services and strengthen the economy.     

  He made the appeal during a reception organised by members of staff in his honour following his transfer to the headquarters of corporation in Lagos.

Engr. Adebiyi said, NRC needs government to focus more attention to the narrow gauge, as the locomotives they are using now were those bought by former President Umar Yar’adua between 2009 and 2010.

According to him, the few locomotives that came after were the 23 class locomotives that were procured by former president Goodluck Jonathan and they were very few about six and only few are functioning now.

“You cannot buy locomotives and forgets about spare parts for maintaining the locos, spare parts were part of the major challenges in the district,’’ Adebiyi said.    

The outgoing RDM urges the staff of the district to support the incoming RDM to enable him succeeds.

“ I am happy am handing over to the new RDM happily and I give grace to God the almighty who has answered my prayers for guidance to be able to serve people to their satisfaction.  

“I have done the little best I can offer to the district in terms of openness and transparency, approachability and capacity to deliver to the district,’’ Adebiyi said.  

Adebiyi who served as the district manager for the zone for six years said he wished to have a standard gauge running in the district.

He said he thought government would approve Kaduna to Kano route as at the time it approved Lagos to Ibadan route, we now have it but I am leaving.

“ I would have loved to have it completed; kick-started and running during my time as the RDM not withstanding wherever I am we will be running the train together,’’ he said.

He said northern district was very strategic as Lagos district where most trains originates it is expected that the train from the north will return back with either freight or passengers for long now we have not been able to run a freight train the  north end.

This is as a result of the reduction in the carriage capacity and haulage capacity of the corporation, specifically on the narrow gauge which takes more locomotives, wagons and couches to run on it.

The federal government concentration was largely on standard gauge and it happening because the previous government did not prioritize railways unlike the present administration which has prioritized the revamping of railways in Nigeria.

In his remarks, the incoming RDM, Mr Habib Alaka said the event was the end of the handing over process pledges to do his best and will not disappoint the management that sent him to the district.

According to Alaka, the district would have more locomotives that would be more reliable because of my own background, Iam an Assistant Director Locomotives at  NRC Hqts.

He said the major challenges  in the district were spare parts, with him, here now  the desired and precise parts the district needs now and the ones it will need in future.

He said he would be working closely with the department that nominated to come and make changes and improvement on the challenges at the district.

To further address the challenges of vandalism in the district, the incoming RDM said the NRC was considering the option of drones and optic fibres along the line to address the challenge.

“My focus was to be running more trains and to work closely with operations and commercial department so that we shall not be having only freight trains from Lagos coming to offload in the north and go back empty; it is a loss of revenue and wastage of energy.

“We are going to sought for goods and freight so that   it will be two-way thing brought freight from the south to north and take goods from north to south it will be double IGR for the NRC.” He said.  

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