Is Lagos to Kano still 30 hours?

HNosegbe: Is Lagos to Kano still 30 hours?

I understand the NRC is working on all those challenges. But you can investigate and tell us later

Sincere9gerian: Recent developments in Nigeria’s railway have gone far in showing that resuscitation of national infrastructure can be cheaply achieved. The Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) is beating the imagination of most people, leaping from one feat to the next in a shorter time than expected and has continued to maintain appreciable doggedness in its determination to stabilise the railway transport system in the country.

The latest of the corporation’s comeback feat is its acquisition of two air-conditioned Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs), railway coaches that herald a complete deviation from the conventional coaches.

The corporation also acquired six air-conditioned coaches meant for the commencement of first-class train service on the Lagos-Kano route. The DMU combines speed with operational ease, making return trips faster than coaches pulled by locomotives by up to 100 per cent.

According to the NRC managing director, Engineer Adeseyi Sijuwade, the new railway vehicles meant to be deployed for mass transit train services, are expected to increase the number of passengers moved by railway in Lagos from the current 16,000 to 22,000 daily.

“These DMUs will free up a number of our heavy locomotives currently being used for passenger services, which can then be redeployed to pull freight wagons,” says Sijuwade.

This post is a paid PR pitch, not a true report of the situation on ground. NRC wants to lure the elites in Lagos to use DMU trains. Hahahaha! Am laughing in Greek!

Lagos state has a population of more than 10 million, according to the state government. Yet, NRC is providing DMU trains that cannot even carry up to 0.1% of the elite, in Lagos.

As stated before on another thread, the lack of info from NRC offices and terminals is appalling.

What is the train schedule for these DMUs? They run once in the morning (at 7:30am from Iddo terminus to Ijoko) and once in the evening at 5:30pm, along the same route, if you are lucky. On some days, they don't even run at all.

So what happens, to the rest of the hours in-between? Nothing. The DMUs are nowhere to be found outside these stipulated hours.

Is there a train schedule that can easily be accessed on the 'go', wherever the elites are located? No.

Is there a customer care phone line on which quick information on DMU train schedules can be obtained, if the elites are far away from the train terminals? No.

What is the cost of a return ticket? Unknown.

Can the elite pay the train fare using their debit cards online or by POS terminals? No.

Are there brochures or leaflets at various key points within the city (especially in the central business districts of Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Ikeja, Apapa, Marina, Amuwo-Odofin, Lekki, Yaba etc), where the elite can get information on the DMU locations and points of departure? No. Whosai?

So is NRC serious about attracting the elite in Lagos to use the trains? I don't think so.... they have displayed their usual clueless, bureaucratic, illogical attitude when it comes to service and efficiency.

Yet, they are making noise about attracting the 'elite' in Lagos state. Hehehe.... let me continue laughing... in Greek!

Sincere9gerian:
I understand the NRC is working on all those challenges. But you can investigate and tell us later

We have investigated. Our verdict is that NRC is not serious. It still persists in running our rail services, in the same manner that yam sellers run their stalls at Ogbete market!!

The same propaganda being recycled and praised by sycophants and Zombie followers. What is the percentage of Lagosians using this train/s? Its only visible enroute Apapa in the whole of Lagos, I don't see "elite" patronising such a train that plies twice per day-Just once Morning and once Evening. This train doesn't even lift 0.5% of people going to Apapa and returning per day-not to talk of the rest of Lagos.
Sincere9gerian, you are a liar along with the Journalist that wrote this trash

Sincere9gerian:
I understand the NRC is working on all those challenges. But you can investigate and tell us later

My friend fear God and stop lying to gullible minds. You are deceiving your bosses in Aso Rock and Wadatta Plaza. NRC is a fraud and all the whitewashing you are trying to do is Dead on Arrival. We all know a serious reform when we see one.if Jonathan means good, he should investigate the bogus claim of this report to ascertain its veracity or otherwise.
Good morning

barcanista: My friend fear God and stop lying to gullible minds. You are deceiving your bosses in Aso Rock and Wadatta Plaza. NRC is a fraud and all the whitewashing you are trying to do is Dead on Arrival. We all know a serious reform when we see one.if Jonathan means good, he should investigate the bogus claim of this report to ascertain its veracity or otherwise.
Good morning

ignorant fool bad belle go kill you, continue living in denial while nigeria moves foward under gej.

laudate:

This post is a paid PR pitch, not a true report of the situation on ground. NRC wants to lure the elites in Lagos to use DMU trains. Hahahaha! Am laughing in Greek!

Lagos state has a population of more than 10 million, according to the state government. Yet, NRC is providing DMU trains that cannot even carry up to 0.1% of the elite, in Lagos.

As stated before on another thread, the lack of info from NRC offices and terminals is appalling.

What is the train schedule for these DMUs? They run once in the morning (at 7:30am from Iddo terminus to Ijoko) and once in the evening at 5:30pm, along the same route, if you are lucky. On some days, they don't even run at all.

So what happens, to the rest of the hours in-between? Nothing. The DMUs are nowhere to be found outside these stipulated hours.

Is there a train schedule that can easily be accessed on the 'go', wherever the elites are located? No.

Is there a customer care phone line on which quick information on DMU train schedules can be obtained, if the elites are far away from the train terminals? No.

What is the cost of a return ticket? Unknown.

Can the elite pay the train fare using their debit cards online or by POS terminals? No.

Are there brochures or leaflets at various key points within the city (especially in the central business districts of Ikoyi, Victoria Island, Ikeja, Apapa, Marina, Amuwo-Odofin, Lekki, Yaba etc), where the elite can get information on the DMU locations and points of departure? No. Whosai?

So is NRC serious about attracting the elite in Lagos to use the trains? I don't think so.... they have displayed their usual clueless, bureaucratic, illogical attitude when it comes to service and efficiency.

Yet, they are making noise about attracting the 'elite' in Lagos state. Hehehe.... let me continue laughing... in Greek!



We have investigated. Our verdict is that NRC is not serious. It still persists in running our rail services, in the same manner that yam sellers run their stalls at Ogbete market!!

Tinubu attack dogs with their politically motivated BAD BELLE. Tinubu's party has governed Lagos for 15 years but which percentage of Lagosians now commute by a railway built by Tinubu's party? GO AND DIE with your destructive criticisms!

Good work to the chairman of the NRC for working very hard to get a good train hausa man would have brought in old locomotives again thank God for getting the position and doing the right thing. Hausa people are the reasons that rail system is the way it is backward thinkers.

Sincere9gerian:
Tinubu attack dogs with their politically motivated BAD BELLE. Tinubu's party has governed Lagos for 15 years but which percentage of Lagosians now commute by a railway built by Tinubu's party? GO AND DIE with your destructive criticisms!

Bros, there is no need for insults. I do not give a hoot about Tinubu or what he does. Some of my posts on other threads have been openly critical of the 'Emperor of Bourdillon' and his acolytes. Go and check. I have no political affiliations and I am yet to see the difference between APC and PDP.

My comments above, were informed by the fact that I have studied the rail system in Nigeria over the past few years and I know that most of what has been posted here is nothing but sheer hype.

For the past few months I have commuted daily from the Abeokuta/Otta axis down to Yaba in Lagos as part of my official duties. There is a project my firm is carrying out in that area. I was one of the elated Nigerians that poured encomiums on GEJ when the trains started running, as I felt it would ease logistics for staff of my company.

For where? After daily monitoring rail service on that axis as well as other services offered by NRC within the Lagos metropolis, I was totally depressed, disappointed and disgusted with NRC's rail services on that route. From late arrivals of trains, to outright cancellation of services, to delays on the tracks (i.e. a journey of 2 hours ends up taking 6 hours), overcrowded coaches, filthy seats, stinking lavatories etc, the litany of woe on Nigerian trains are endless.

When hype masters such as your esteemed self, decide to post paid PR articles, do us a favour and cross-check if what is being touted as a transformation is actually a reality.

In your books, it is an offence for a Nigerian citizen to complain about poor, shoddy services and non-existent DMU schedules. Yet, we want a better Nigeria. How do we get a better country if we don't speak out about the problems and issues on ground, so that those in charge of these sectors can improve their performance?

Sorry to disappoint you, but am not a sycophant. I will continue to speak out and call it as I see it, with no apologies. Someone is being paid a salary to solve these problems, and taxpayers money are being expended to resolve these issues, yet NRC's offerings are going from bad to worse.

Why should we sweep inefficiency and appalling performance under the carpet, simply because it doesn't favour your 'Oga at the top'? Is it a lie that NRC lacks a functional customer care service line (in these days when GSM and phone services are two for ten kobo), or that it is clueless about how to market its services to the elite it hopes to attract to the DMU coaches?

The same NRC that wants to woo the elite and middle class, has done nothing to offer them convenience, information and express rail schedule to reduce their logistic problems. And yet you expect us to applaud them. I beg, commot for road, jare!

NRC just has to be privatized for it to be efficient.

laudate:

Bros, there is no need for insults. I do not give a hoot about Tinubu or what he does. Some of my posts on other threads have been openly critical of the 'Emperor of Bourdillon' and his acolytes. Go and check. I have no political affiliations and I am yet to see the difference between APC and PDP.

My comments above, were informed by the fact that I have studied the rail system in Nigeria over the past few years and I know that most of what has been posted here is nothing but sheer hype.

For the past few months I have commuted daily from the Abeokuta/Otta axis down to Yaba in Lagos as part of my official duties. There is a project my firm is carrying out in that area. I was one of the elated Nigerians that poured encomiums on GEJ when the trains started running, as I felt it would ease logistics for staff of my company.

For where? After daily monitoring rail service on that axis as well as other services offered by NRC within the Lagos metropolis, I was totally depressed, disappointed and disgusted with NRC's rail services on that route. From late arrivals of trains, to outright cancellation of services, to delays on the tracks (i.e. a journey of 2 hours ends up taking 6 hours), overcrowded coaches, filthy seats, stinking lavatories etc, the litany of woe on Nigerian trains are endless.

When hype masters such as your esteemed self, decide to post paid PR articles, do us a favour and cross-check if what is being touted as a transformation is actually a reality.

In your books, it is an offence for a Nigerian citizen to complain about poor, shoddy services and non-existent DMU schedules. Yet, we want a better Nigeria. How do we get a better country if we don't speak out about the problems and issues on ground, so that those in charge of these sectors can improve their performance?

Sorry to disappoint you, but am not a sycophant. I will continue to speak out and call it as I see it, with no apologies. Someone is being paid a salary to solve these problems, and taxpayers money are being expended to resolve these issues, yet NRC's offerings are going from bad to worse.

Why should we sweep inefficiency and appalling performance under the carpet, simply because it doesn't favour your 'Oga at the top'? Is it a lie that NRC lacks a functional customer care service line (in these days when GSM and phone services are two for ten kobo), or that it is clueless about how to market its services to the elite it hopes to attract to the DMU coaches?

The same NRC that wants to woo the elite and middle class, has done nothing to offer them convenience, information and express rail schedule to reduce their logistic problems. And yet you expect us to applaud them. I beg, commot for road, jare!

No one has said there are no challenges BUT we must first acknowledge where we were yesterday, we where are today, and then talk of where we hope to be tomorrow.

The FACTS are that as at 2009, ALL the trains were GROUNDED in Nigeria. Meaning, NRC was moribund. Meaning, there was no movement of train anywhere in Nigeria, besides the Kaduna intra-city train services that was being sponsored by the Kaduna state govt, then led by Sambo, the current vice president. In fact, not just that trains were not moving, the railways were not just dilapidated, but people had already built all sorts of structures on the right of way of NRC facilities. And yes, I have the details about that which I can provide if you want.

Fast forward to 2014, now we have Lagos-kano express train services. Now we have intra-city Lagos train services moving about 16,000 passengers daily within Lagos. Now the trains are being used to haul cement, flour, diesel, etc to the north from southwest. Now we have 2 recently purchased modern looking DMU trains, with more being expected in the next few weeks. Now, the govt is on the verge of completing the first standard guage railway in Nigeria since 1914, which is the Abuja-Kaduna railway.

That and many more is what is called PROGRESS. Any fair and apolitical analysis of the situation must first acknowledge the PROGRESS that has been made before highlighting the remaining challenges and how to go about solving them.

If you ask me, most of the challenges in the sector which you rightly highlighted can only be solved by the NRC having PPP arrangement whereby the private sector is allowed to run the day to day activities of the NRC. The attitude of the average Nigerian to any 'govt work' is BAD. And I think privatisation, concessioning, etc are part of the 25 years master plan of the railway transformation agenda. In the end, what happened to the power sector will also happen in the railway sector.

Sincere9gerian: : Recent developments in Nigeria’s railway have gone far in showing that resuscitation of national infrastructure can be cheaply achieved. The Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) is beating the imagination of most people, leaping from one feat to the next in a shorter time than expected and has continued to maintain appreciable doggedness in its determination to stabilise the railway transport system in the country.

The latest of the corporation’s comeback feat is its acquisition of two air-conditioned Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs), railway coaches that herald a complete deviation from the conventional coaches...

Sincere9gerian:
No one has said there are no challenges BUT we must first acknowledge where we were yesterday, we where are today, and then talk of where we hope to be tomorrow.

The FACTS are that as at 2009, ALL the trains were GROUNDED in Nigeria. Meaning, NRC was moribund. Meaning, there was no movement of train anywhere in Nigeria, besides the Kaduna intra-city train services that was being sponsored by the Kaduna state govt, then led by Sambo, the current vice president..

He-ell-o! The trains started running since January 2012 and you are here almost 2 years later in September 2014, still congratulating GEJ’s foot soldiers in the NRC , for resuscitating the railways.

How long do you expect people to continue sitting on one spot, drinking ‘burukutu’ and ‘kai-kai’, singing praises for the revival of the railways, when your counterparts in other G8 countries are going ahead to break new grounds and scale higher mountains?

Secondly, what is the quality of the trains and the coaches that were revived and offered to the populace? It reminds me of a woman celebrating the fact that her 3 year old son has finally started crawling (as if it is a feat that no other person alive has ever achieved), while conveniently ignoring the fact that his mates in the same age bracket are already walking, running and jumping!

Sincere9gerian:

In fact, not just that trains were not moving, the railways were not just dilapidated, but people had already built all sorts of structures on the right of way of NRC facilities. And yes, I have the details about that which I can provide if you want.

We have heard! What next??!! The people that built structures on the railway lines, did so with the active connivance of NRC officials way back then, who deliberately turned a blind eye to the antics of the trespassers. Otherwise, why didn’t they prosecute the offenders? Till date, how many people have been clamped into jail for illegally occupying NRC property, or for encroaching and trespassing on NRC facilities? Provide the details, please since you have them.

Or is it that GEJ’s NRC foot soldiers just smacked them on the wrist and asked them to go and sin no more?

Sincere9gerian:
Fast forward to 2014, now we have Lagos-kano express train services. Now we have intra-city Lagos train services moving about 16,000 passengers daily within Lagos. Now the trains are being used to haul cement, flour, diesel, etc to the north from southwest. Now we have 2 recently purchased modern looking DMU trains, with more being expected in the next few weeks. Now, the govt is on the verge of completing the first standard guage railway in Nigeria since 1914, which is the Abuja-Kaduna railway.

That and many more is what is called PROGRESS. Any fair and apolitical analysis of the situation must first acknowledge the PROGRESS that has been made before highlighting the remaining challenges and how to go about solving them.
If you ask me, most of the challenges in the sector which you rightly highlighted can only be solved by the NRC having PPP arrangement whereby the private sector is allowed to run the day to day activities of the NRC. The attitude of the average Nigerian to any 'govt work' is BAD. And I think privatisation, concessioning, etc are part of the 25 years master plan of the railway transformation agenda. In the end, what happened to the power sector will also happen in the railway sector.

Ah, this your definition of progress made me laugh. You have become fixated with acknowledging this ‘progress’ for the past 2 years, that you have refused to admit the inherent deficiencies and defects that have dogged the so-called progress, you keep waving like a flag.

Since 2012, the trains have been crawling rather than moving, so please stop using the word ‘express’ next time you mention the Lagos-Kano route.

In August 2013, it was reported by Business Day Newspaper that this same train service took about 48 hours to deliver passengers to their destination in Kano from Lagos. It departed on Friday July the 19th four hours behind schedule, and entered Kano on Sunday July 21 at 3:30pm.

In December 2013, the Vanguard reported that passengers on this route spent 43 hours to get from Lagos to Kano.
Since then a journey which should not take more than 22 hours, has fluctuated from 33 hours to 48 hours. Instead, of finding a permanent solution to this problem, your people in the NRC have engaged you to keep celebrating the fact that the trains have been revived for the past two years.

From day 1, the same complaints of overcrowded coaches, snail speed locomotives, filthy toilets that constitute a health hazard to passengers and lack of communication have dogged the NRC for the past 2 years. Yet nothing has been done. Instead, of finding a permanent solution, NRC is busy propagating its ‘train revival’. Forgive me, if I do not join your thanksgiving.

Don't even let me get started on the DMUs. I doubt if bankers will be able to board the DMU as part of their daily commute.

Bankers are expected to resume in their offices between 7:15am and 7:30 am, while they close from work between 5:30pm and 6:00pm, even though the banking hall is shut for business at 4pm. Workers still have to do end-of-day posting & reconciliation before leaving. Yet, NRC has not factored this into its daily train schedule, and it expects to attract this crop of workers to use the DMU trains. Na dem sabi.

Read all about it here:
http://businessdayonline.com/2013/08/lagos-kano-train-service/#.VBSwLcJdVBE

https://www.nairaland.com/1581242/lagos-kano-train-43-hours/4#25287343 - Lagos - Kano Train: 43 Hours Journey, Declining Passenger Interest - Politics (4) – Nairaland -11:22am On Jan 05 2014 - http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/12/poor-services-cripple-intercity-rail-line/ Dec 30 2013

https://www.nairaland.com/1373378/3rd-lagos-kano-train-service-flagged - 3rd Lagos-Kano Train Service Flagged Off Yesterday -Jul 26, 2013
https://www.nairaland.com/1168889/passengers-overwhelm-nrc-lagos-kano-route - Passengers Overwhelm NRC On Lagos-kano Route by Boyoorisha: 10:36am On Jan 20, 2013 - http://leadership.ng/nga/articles/45540/2013/01/20/passengers_overwhelm_nrc_lagoskano_route.html


I wish NRC a lot of luck, because it is so obvious that they need it since they don’t know what it takes to run a modern train service.

Sincere9gerian: And I think privatisation, concessioning, etc are part of the 25 years master plan of the railway transformation agenda. In the end, what happened to the power sector will also happen in the railway sector

We have had so many masterplans over the past few decades in this country that never saw the light of day. Most of the time, our problem is not planning, but execution. Please, if NRC cannot train, control & motivate its staff to do the jobs they are being paid for, then its' management should resign honourably.

Everyone keeps touting 'privatisation' as if it is a magic wand. Soon, someone will say the job of ruling Nigeria should be privatised....