Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the naming of the railway terminus in Agbor, Delta State, after Goodluck Jonathan, his predecessor.
Chibuike Amaechi, the Minister of Transport, disclosed this on Saturday in Agbor, while taking a test-run ride on the newly constructed Warri-Itakpe rail track.
The terminus, to be known as Goodluck Jonathan Railway Station and Complex, is the operational hub of the 276km rail line that runs from Warri in Delta State to Itakpe in Kogi State.
Nigeria has embarked on an investment drive into its rail system, as part of efforts to address the challenge of infrastructure deficiency in Africa’s most populous country.
Various rail lines are under construction to lead Nigeria’s South West and South-South regions to the northern parts of the country.
Other stations on the Warri-Itakpe route include Eganiy; Adobe; Itogbo; Agenebode; Uromi; Egehen; Igbanke; Agbor; Abraka; Okpara, and Ujewu.
Commenting on the Abuja-Kaduna rail line on which service was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic, Amaechi said that service cannot be restored now “because people are not obeying the physical distancing.”
Part of the changes that will be made before the service resumes is a reduction in the number of passengers per coach from 88 to 40, which will lead to a rise in fares. he said.
He said the service which was suspended in the wake of the COVID-19 “It is worse when you have to deal with 4,000 passengers a day between Kaduna and Abuja,” he added.
The minister said that when the service eventually resumes, the number of passengers per coach would be reduced from 88 to 40 passengers in compliance with the social distancing protocols.
“The first thing we will put in place, and we are waiting for approval is that the cost of transportation to Kaduna from Abuja will double because each coach takes 88 passengers but we will reduce it to 40 and the implication is that the price will increase,” Amaechi said.
The ministry will seek Buhari’s approval for the increase, he said.
