The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) plans to electrify the country’s rail network within five years. However, observers have expressed doubts about Nigeria’s ability to achieve the dream with a “notoriously unreliable” electric grid.
by Blue Africa News
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) plans to electrify the country’s rail network within five years.
Kayode Opeifa, Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, said this week that the country was pushing forward with an ambitious rail plan that would include electrifying the country’s rail system within five years and doubling capacity in 10.
The NRC’s vision 2-5-10-20 refers to the corporation’s plan to optimise national rail assets within two years, transition to electric traction by the fifth year, double national rail capacity within ten years, and achieve not less than 60,000 kilometres of rail network nationwide within 20 years.
“The roadmap is designed to enable all states to access and utilize the national rail corridors at no extra cost, following recent legislative amendments that placed railway development on the concurrent legislative list,” said Opeifa, during a recent transport conference in Abuja.
He also highlighted the ongoing freight-by-rail expansion, stating that the corporation is currently moving increased volumes of containerised cargo, gypsum, soda ash, cement, metal coil and materials for the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline project.
However, observers have expressed doubt about Nigeria’s capability to electrify its railway network, with the nation’s electricity grid being referred to as “notoriously unreliable.”
If the plan comes to fruition, Nigeria will join a small number of African countries with functional electrical railway lines.
Ethiopia and neighbouring Djibouti currently operate the 753 km Addis Ababa–Djibouti standard-gauge electrified railway, connecting Addis Ababa to the port of Djibouti.
Morocco’s high-speed line Al Boraq between Tangier and Casablanca is also electrified and operational, while South Africa has a number of heavy-haul, commuter and high speed rail lines that are electrified and operational.
Blue Africa News