The Federal Government on Thursday flagged off the commencement of cargo haulage from the Dala Inland Dry Port in Kano to the Apapa Seaport in Lagos State through the Lagos to Kano narrow gauge railway, to ease the movement of goods from the seaport to the hinterland.
The Minister of Transportation, Said Alkali, during the commissioning of the freight movement at the Dala Inland Dry Port in Kano State, said the aim was to decongest Apapa Seaport and promote efficient rail services.
He recalled that during his familiarisation visit to the Apapa Port when he assumed office in October 2023, he gave a marching order to the Railway Corporation to fix the narrow gauge from Lagos to Kano for freight use.
He said, “The fixing of the narrow gauge was to ensure the resumption of freight service from Lagos to Kano, being the commercial nerve centre of northern Nigeria, without interrupting the standard gauge construction.”
The minister further stated that the construction of the standard gauge from Lagos to Kano-Maradi is progressing at an appreciable speed as the Federal Government recently secured financing for the ongoing standard gauge rail projects from Kaduna to Kano.
He disclosed that the government has also initiated a rail project that will link Badagry to Tincan-Apapa-Lekki-Ijebu Ode-Kajola and then connect to Lagos-Kano-Maradi.
He said that the current project was undertaken under the railway modernisation project to accelerate the realisation of the renewed hope agenda of the President. He commended the President for providing the needed support for the completion of the legacy project.
The Managing Director of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), Fidelis Okhiria, in his address, noted that the event marks the first movement of freight by rail from the inland dry port in Kano to the seaport in Apapa, adding it would not have happened without the determination of the Minister who pushed them to ensure they delivered on the narrow gauge so that the movement of trains on the narrow gauge would begin as soon as possible.
He revealed that the train left Apapa on the evening of the 26th and arrived on the 31st of April, saying they tried to avoid night movements of the train as the line was preceded by a railbus and security as well as engineering men to ensure the track is safe and the goods are delivered without hitches.
He said, “As the train leaves here today, they intend to get to Apapa within four days. There are some areas where, due to security reasons, we can’t run at night, and we respect that, so the train will be moving from 7 am to 6 pm. It is better to be late than to be late, so we take that as a principle.”
The dry port, according to him, is rolling out 18 wagons of 4-foot containers at a goal, and they will be delivered as the same, adding that it will further reduce the stress on the road and promote safety and security for people using the road.
He urged Nigerians to use the services for their import and export, saying train service is cheaper, safer, and faster than road transport.
Although the rail may be going 48 km/h, he said it is faster as it will take an extra two days if goods go by road.
He said for now they are transporting 18 containers, but they can do up to 30 containers with double-headed locomotives as they get more freight. NRC can do more tonnage to support people involved in exports and imports.
