Mr Poster


Can i know how $6 bill will be sourced

Kobojunkie:

[size=14pt]If this is a continuation of the same -- no UPGRADES but simply replacing our existing with more of the same, this is terrible![/size]

The Federal Government will spend N912bn to procure 200 new locomotives required by the Nigerian Railway Corporation to meet current demand for its services nationwide.

The 25 new locos just delivered to the corporation by the General Electric of the United States cost the government N114bn.

Going by this calculation, one locomotive costs N4.56bn even though experts put the average cost at about N5bn.

The Lagos Railway District Manager, Mr. John Dottie, said train operations were gradually picking up following the delivery of the new engines. He, however, noted that at least 200 sound locomotives would be required to meet the country’s demand.

He told our correspondent on Tuesday that a larger number of the locos would be devoted to mass transit trains, while the others would cater for freight trains.

Specifically, he said that while about 60 per cent of the engines would be dedicated to the mass transit trains in Lagos, Kano, Enugu and three other states; the other 40 per cent would be reserved for the needs in the freight service.

With the introduction of the 25 new engines, which were inaugurated less than two weeks ago, Dottie said, “Passenger number is increasing by the day. In fact, the trains are still congested. But the NRC management is doing something to improve the situation. We are refurbishing old coaches to accommodate more trains.”

The corporation, according to him, currently moves between 16,000 and 20,000 passengers everyday in the Lagos district alone.

He said the NRC had the capacity to carry 50,000 passengers everyday if it had enough locomotives and other rolling stock for the operation.

“With sound locos and more coaches, we can run more trains. And the people will have stress free rides,” Dottie said.

The RDM also hinted of plans to increase the frequency of the Lagos trains and run a train every hour at the end of this month.

He said a deliberate policy of consistent investment in the nation’s railways was necessary to keep the system going.

For instance, he recommended the purchase of 25 new locomotives with other rolling stock on an annual basis to keep pace with railway development in other countries.

Nigeria will spend about 912 billion naira ($5.9 billion) to buy 200 locomotives, Punch reported, without saying how it got the information.

Nigerian Railway Corp. has already taken delivery of 25 locomotives from Connecticut-based General Electric Co. at a cost of 114 billion naira, the Lagos-based newspaper said.

About 60 percent of the trains will be dedicated to passenger services in Lagos, Kano, Enugu and three other states, while the remainder will be reserved for freight services, Punch said, citing John Dottie, Lagos railway district manager.

To contact the reporter on this story: Vincent Nwanma in Lagos via Accra at vnwanma@bloomberg.net.

Kobojunkie:

I hold bloomberg to higher standards is why I still blame bloomberg for passing on the news in the way it did.