Rowland Ataguba is Chairman of the Rail Work Group of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and an international strategic railway delivery expert. He spoke to KINGSLEY ALU on developments on the Nigerian Railways. Excerpts:

‘There Is No Transformation In Railway System’
By Kingsley Alu

Q: The Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) recently launched two Diesel Multiple Units (DMUs) and six coaches amid much fanfare, so the transformation of the railways is gathering momentum. Not so?

A: We are making progress but it is much too slow for you to use an emotive term such as transformation. Transformation suggests drastic change which we are a long way from and when you think about what has been expended, it’s enough to transform the railways but I daresay that we are miles away. The level of progress that has been achieved has not changed the performance indices of the NRC from where it was in 2007.

Q: How do you mean ?

A: Well for a start, you talked about the launch of two DMUs for an organisation that probably needs to have four hundred to make serious impact. If two is all it can afford, then it should do its launching quietly rather than embarrass itself before the world. It is simply the height of mediocrity for our national railway company to wheel out our Vice President and Minister to celebrate its acquisition of two DMUs. The VP and Minister probably attended to demonstrate the FG’s commitment to the railways but they were shortchanged. It’s like asking a Governor out to commission two minibuses as a response to his state’s public transportation problems.

Q: Has NRC’s performance not improved since rehabilitation?

A: We can only go by their numbers. The transport ministry reports that in the years 2012 and 2013, the NRC hauled a total of 280,000 tonnes of freight. In 2013 alone it hauled under 100,000 tonnes. Now we need to be careful how we use railway statistics because unless you reference it to the distance that the freight travels, you end up with meaningless statistics as it does not tell you anything about the intensity of use of the infrastructure nor benchmark performance vis a vis other systems. The relevant statistic is the traffic density in tonne-kilometres per kilometre. Notwithstanding, we can do an analysis using a simple rule of thumb. First, though, you must appreciate that the threshold density to justify what they are expending on railway rehabilitation is 2million net tonnes per kilometre per year. So if you cannot haul a minimum of 2million tonnes of freight per annum, then you have no business wasting public money on rehabilitation. Now, freight between Lagos and Kano alone, what we know as the western axis, is about 10million tonnes per annum, 99 per cent of which goes by road. Now, if you are only able to win 100,000 tonnes of this business, then your market share is just 1 per cent. That was the position in 2007. I have not included the commodity flows on the eastern axis from Port Harcourt to Kaduna nor the east-west axis from Lagos to Enugu because there are no serious rail services on them. If you took all the numbers into account, then the market share of rail is 0.5 per cent. Do you call that transformation?

Q: What about passengers?

A: Well the Ministry of Transport says the NRC carried 4.1m illion passengers in 2012 and 4.2million passengers in 2013 but these are actually misleading statistics because we do not use rail statistics in this way. Let me explain. When the NRC says it carried 4million passengers, it does not mean 4million unique people. What it means is that it sold 4million tickets in the year. Now those 4million tickets could be just 10,000 people travelling to work and back everyday from Agbado to Lagos, say Monday to Friday.

In a year, those same 10,000 people would have bought 5million tickets. NRC will then announce that it carried 5million passengers in the year! On the Agbado to Lagos axis alone, there are 1million people moving into Lagos each day. That is about 2million passenger trips per day!

The NRC can only take a handful of these given its level of service. So you can see that there is no way that it can make an impact on the transportation situation in Lagos, how much more the entire country with such abysmal performance. The rest have to make do by road, so the roads stay congested, the accident statistics remain high, pollution from vehicle emissions remain high. In short, nothing has changed. Next thing you will hear is that the NRC equipment are breaking down, so the 10,000 people who are packed like sardines in quite unsanitary conditions on trains will have to endure further hardship.

Q: But the NRC says that it has a two year maintenance arrangement with the manufacturers who will be based in Nigeria and help transfer knowledge to its operatives.

A: Well, good, but when you buy a new car, the first two years are usually trouble free. It is only after a few years that problems will arise though it is helpful if you had a decent maintenance regime from the beginning. What they will need to do in addition is to send NRC operatives for training at the Chinese manufacturer’s on how to maintain older equipment.

The further issue is the proliferation of motive power types. You would recall that the NRC bought about 25 locomotives from General Electric in 2009. Now they have gone and bought Chinese DMUs. At the last count, the NRC had engines from 5 different manufacturers from around the world which create a maintenance nightmare. First you will have to train your people on how to maintain all these engine types, then you will have to keep a large inventory of parts for the different engines which just means waste. If you ran a motor transport business, would you have Toyota, VW, Volvo, Peugeot all in your fleet? You need to keep it homogenuous so you can maintain a reasonable parts inventory and use parts interchangeably.



http://leadership.ng/business/382742/transformation-railway-system

Cc:

Seun, lalasticlala,

Haters can go and kill themselves if they like. all i know is Jonathan till 2019. still Jonathan till buhari locate his certificate.

jonathan.. keep deceiving yourself

clevvermind:
Haters can go and kill themselves if they like. all i know is Jonathan till 2019. still Jonathan till buhari locate his certificate.

Re.tard celebrating 1812 locomotive train. Wake up dude and smell the coffee. . . .change has come to stay

FOLYKAZE:


Re.tard celebrating 1812 locomotive train. Wake up dude and smell the coffee. . . .change has come to stay

my guy, just go and dash yourself to the lion in the zoo to use as lunch. you are a waste.

So weeds carrying reptiles and insect on railway lines rather than trains transporting people and goods is transformation, ba?

We have to start from somewhere. If the previous government had done what gej is doing now, I know he would not use bad belle to destroy it but would rather build on it.

Sai GEJ!!!

Kai gMB!!!

nke001:
So weeds carrying reptiles and insect on railway lines rather than trains transporting people and goods is transformation, ba?

We have to start from somewhere. If the previous government had done what gej is doing now, I know he would not use bad belle to destroy it but would rather build on it.

Sai GEJ!!!

Kai gMB!!!

The statistics do not show any transformation, some work is been done but it is far from transformation.

tbaba1234; FOLYKAZE:

People are hard to please......

No railway they complained....

The railways are up and running of decades of inactivity yet they are still complaining....

You dont appreciate what you have until you lose it.....

I was in pry school when they were all grounded.... When i saw the trains running at Ikeja Along, i nearly cried. There might not be 100 trains running daily but if 10 can run, we're just starting again after years of inactivity in that sector.... Lets build on what we have and appreciate the people who revived the system.

Do you know that NRC is a corporation just like former NEPA....??... Look at Nepa now.... It has been privatized into many discos....

If you want to see lotta trains running about, buying more trains is not the solution....

Change the NRC Act.... Privatize it.... Let private transport and haulage companies bring in their own trains.... And pay NRC for using the system.... Infact, NRC, just like NCC should only play regulatory role....

So change those old laws first... Privatize.... Then things will get better.........!!...

oweniwe:
People are hard to please......

No railway they complained....

The railways are up and running of decades of inactivity yet they are still complaining....

You dont appreciate what you have until you lose it.....

I was in pry school when they were all grounded.... When i saw the trains running at Ikeja Along, i nearly cried. There might not be 100 trains running daily but if 10 can run, we're just starting again after years of inactivity in that sector.... Lets build on what we have and appreciate the people who revived the system.

Do you know that NRC is a corporation just like former NEPA....??... Look at Nepa now.... It has been privatized into many discos....

If you want to see lotta trains running about, buying more trains is not the solution....

Change the NRC Act.... Privatize it.... Let private transport and haulage companies bring in their own trains.... And pay NRC for using the system.... Infact, NRC, just like NCC should only play regulatory role....

So change those old laws first... Privatize.... Then things will get better.........!!...

Should we be celebrating mediocrity?

There was never a time that they were all grounded..

If the performance indices has not changed from 2007, where is the transformation??

The government pushes this as its major achievement but a critical examination shows that not much has been achieved so far.

tbaba1234:


Should we be celebrating mediocrity?

There was never a time that they were all grounded..

If the performance indices has not changed from 2007, where is the transformation??

The government pushes this as its major achievement but a critical examination shows that not much as been achieved so far.

NRC was never completely grounded..??..

you don't know jack about your country....!!...

NRC was like the Nigeria Airways and NITEL.... Grounded..... you can as well say NITEL is not completely grounded now.....

well, since you dont appreciate the little rail services you have now....

Oya go and pack all the trains and throw them into the Atlantic Ocean..

you're doing like MKO Abiola.... Forget the presidency...... Take your freedom.... Walk away.... Go meet your wives and childrem.... He insisted he wanted presidency.... Where is he now?

You have some trains running and you're still compalaning..... Maybe na when a fully loaded Dangote Cement truck hit you, that is when you will appreciate the little train services we have in the country.....

Some people just like to criticize for the sake of criticising.... If you need N100k for a project and someone give you N10k....

If you say thank you, heaven will not fall

Where is Ikengawo and that wench when you need them

tbaba1234:


Should we be celebrating mediocrity?

There was never a time that they were all grounded..

If the performance indices has not changed from 2007, where is the transformation??

The government pushes this as its major achievement but a critical examination shows that not much as been achieved so far.

The problem I have with people like you is that you are quick to explain away the inability of Fashola and Amaechi to deliver even water powered train engine after 16 and 8 years in power. Fashola recently told us that he can no more achieve the feat, after boasting that he wil achieve project completion in 2013.

After decades of inactivity, and barely 5 years of hard work by GEJ, the rails are working again and you call it mediocrity? What your pay masters could not achieve in 16 years? What exactly is your problem?

oweniwe:


NRC was never completely grounded..??..

you don't know jack about your country....!!...

NRC was like the Nigeria Airways and NITEL.... Grounded..... you can as well say NITEL is not completely grounded now.....

well, since you dont appreciate the little rail services you have now....

Oya go and pack all the trains and throw them into the Atlantic Ocean..

you're doing like MKO Abiola.... Forget the presidency...... Take your freedom.... Walk away.... Go meet your wives and childrem.... He insisted he wanted presidency.... Where is he now?

You have some trains running and you're still compalaning..... Maybe na when a fully loaded Dangote Cement truck hit you, that is when you will appreciate the little train services we have in the country.....

Some people just like to criticize for the sake of criticising.... If you need N100k for a project and someone give you N10k....

If you say thank you, heaven will not fall

Again, I say, it was NEVER completely grounded. They have always been moving people.

Did you even read.the interview??

Government work is not a gift, It is service to the people. It is an obligation.

Government is funded by people's taxes and is accountable to the people.

If the goverment is pushing something as transformation, the figures should add up.

I do not owe government thank you, for doing its job.

FrankC3:


The problem I have with people like you is that you are quick to explain away the inability of Fashola and Amaechi to deliver even water powered train engine after 16 and 8 years in power. Fashola recently told us that he can no more achieve the feat, after boasting that he wil achieve project completion in 2013.

After decades of inactivity, and barely 5 years of hard work by GEJ, the rails are working again and you call it mediocrity? What your pay masters could not achieve in 16 years? What exactly is your problem?

Fashola is not counting it as part of his achievements.

The point is the railways are a work in progress, It is not transformation.

Abuja - Kaduna


Abuja - Kaduna


Abuja - Kaduna

[img]http://www.cpcs.ca/files/cache/957d184ec374fbbc691e917915537695_f320.jpg[/img]
Lagos - Abuja

Lagos - Kano


Lagos - Kano



Gombe - Kafuachan - Kaduna


Lagos - Abuja - Kaduna - Kano

.

Enugu - Port Harcourt


Lagos - Abuja


Port Harcourt to Enugu

[img]http://3.bp..com/-fLEwmrzjTD4/VKwqESP1E6I/AAAAAAAAADc/Jr_llW7XYeg/s1600/1991440_train4_jpegc11b67479ad76e9dbe92205043f2f64c.jpg[/img]



Enugu - Aba - Umuahia - Port Harcourt

tbaba1234:


Government work is not a gift, It is service to the people. It is an obligation.

Government is funded by people's taxes and are accountable to the people.

I do not owe government thank you, for doing their job.

the statement above is very sad....

If u're a parent..... U work and struggle to send your children to school.... Your children now open mouth and say.... Its daddy's resposibility to send us to school.... We dont owe him thank you...

Forget the interview.... I lived at Lafenwa in abeokuta.... All trains from North/Lagos stop there.... Operations stopped there around 2002.....

Do you even know what it takes to rebuild aand lay asphalt on road like Benin-Ore, Lokoja-Abuja..... Talkless of what it takes to lay rail tracks inside jungles....

I assume you're in Lagos.... If so you must have passed through Lagos-Ibadan express and seen the work going on there..... That is Obasanjo could not do in 8 yrs...

You dont know how many lives trailers and tankers have wasted for nothing cos of lack of rail service and bad roads.... If your car have ever broken down on Benin-Ore road before it was rebiult, you will hate Nigeria, curse the government.....

But now, the road is so smooth you'll feel like doing F1 on it.

Somebody started work on those dilapidated things and yet u say you dont owe him any thank you..... Well, that is for you....

Transport companies... frequent travellers that are using newly built roads.... haulage companies that are using NRC's small small services.

They're grateful to the Government....!!...

[size=15pt]Abuja Light Rail Transformation[/size]

oweniwe:


the statement above is very sad....

If u're a parent..... U work and struggle to send your children to school.... Your children now open mouth and say.... Its daddy's resposibility to send us to school.... We dont owe him thank you...

Forget the interview.... I lived at Lafenwa in abeokuta.... All trains from North/Lagos stop there.... Operations stopped there around 2002.....

Do you even know what it takes to rebuild aand lay asphalt on road like Benin-Ore, Lokoja-Abuja..... Talkless of what it takes to lay rail tracks inside jungles....

I assume you're in Lagos.... If so you must have passed through Lagos-Ibadan express and seen the work going on there..... That is Obasanjo could not do in 8 yrs...

You dont know how many lives trailers and tankers have wasted for nothing cos of lack of rail service and bad roads.... If your car have ever broken down on Benin-Ore road before it was rebiult, you will hate Nigeria, curse the government.....

But now, the road is so smooth you'll feel like doing F1 on it.

Somebody started work on those dilapidated things and yet u say you dont owe him any thank you..... Well, that is for you....

Transport companies... frequent travellers that are using newly built roads.... haulage companies that are using NRC's small small services.

They're grateful to the Government....!!...

You do not understand, Government is paid and financed by the people to do a job..

If government does a good job, they are to be praised not thanked...

Two different things.

Until the citizenry realise that they have the power and they are not children to a powerful government, We will not hold government accountable.

[size=15pt]Abuja Light Rail Transformation[/size]







AN OVERHEAD BRIDGE ACROSS ABUJA LIGHT RAIL ON THE OUTER NORTHERN EXPRESSWAY NEAR THE BRICK-CITY ESTATE IN ABUJA ON FRIDAY (27/9/13).

tbaba1234:


If government does a good job, they are to be praised not thanked...

you just gave yourself a hot slap

to praise and to thank is not the same..??...

Wayo Allah....

Now i can see why people saying that Buhari is not Literate.

[size=15pt]Abuja Light Rail Transformation[/size]

oweniwe:


you just gave yourself a hot slap

to praise and to thank is not the same..??...

Wayo Allah....

Now i can see why people saying that Buhari is not Literate.

Praise and thanks are two different things..

If I see a beautiful car, I praise it but I do not thank it.

Goverment is paid to do a job.

.