President Muhammadu Buhari finally inaugurated Abuja-Kaduna commercial train operations yesterday, after a series of postponements. On Tuesday, the president marked the commencement of full commercial operations of the rail project contracted by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and partially completed by Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. The rail line connects Idu, Abuja to the Rigasa community in Kaduna. Speaking at the main station in Abuja, President Buhari said that his administration is looking to connect all states and major business centres in the country through rail lines.

The project had been test-run for six weeks before its inauguration. “One of the reasons why we did not commission earlier is because we wanted the train to run for at least a month and check if there will be any problems, but we have done that for over a month and there was no problem,” said Rotimi Ameachi, the Nigerian Minister for Transport. The minister who sought the opinion of the passengers before fixing the fare of the 330 capacity train said, “They suggested 500 on economy and I will do that.”

Some of the residents of Rigasa in the Kaduna metropolis are excited over the project, stating that it has already begun to boost economic activities in the area. “Already, people are moving into the area from across the country, irrespective of religion or ethnic affiliation; it will certainly boost economic activities,” said Mustapha Alhassan, the Chairman of  theRigasa Community Development Association, speaking to the ‘News Agency of Nigeria.’ The rail line marks tangible progress for the Nigerian transport sector. Buhari said the new railway will significantly enhance and provide affordable and safe movement of passengers and freight between the Federal Capital Territory and Kaduna State.

The project is a welcome development but improvements are still expected. As the train station at Kaduna is located on the outskirts, arrangements need to be made for passengers to access shuttle buses to downtown Kaduna. Lavatory facilities at the main train stations are under-provided but the minister of transportation, last week, expressed his commitment to address this issue. As with most infrastructure projects in the Nigeria, the quality of maintenance (which is too often negligible) will ultimately determine the extent to which the benefits will materialise.

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