The Kano Maradi Rail Line was conceived by the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. “On August 13, 2013 in Nigeria, the Vice President of Nigeria, Namadi Sambo, announced that Nigeria was to construct a line into the Republic of Niger. According to him, the new track would be an extension to the existing branch from Zaria to Kaura-Namoda, which is to be continued via Sokoto to Birnin Kebbi. In the longer term, he said that it would extend the line across the border to Niamey, capital of Niger.”
Niger Republic is a landlocked country and it needs access to the sea. A lot of its goods are transported via ports in Benin Republic and the Nigerian Government wants a share of this market, that's why it is backing the construction of this rail line. The idea is that goods will be moved from Niger Republic to Apapa Port.
However, no work was done on the ground during the Goodluck Jonathan era.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the Kano - Maradi Railway was done in February 2021 by the Muhammadu Buhari Administration and work commenced immediately afterwards.
The line will have stations at Kazaure, Daura, Jibiya, Dutse, Dambatta, Mashi, Shagalle, Dawanau, Kunya, Durbe, Muduru, Daddara, and Maradi.
The Western and Central Standard Gauge Lines in Nigeria are dual track lines (two tracks side by side), but the Kano - Maradi Line is a single track line.
1) Western Line: The Western Line was the first line that was built by the Colonial Government. The primary reason for building it was to transport raw materials and agricultural goods like Al-Hassan Dantata's groundnuts from Kano to the port in Lagos.
The line begins at the Lagos Terminus in Iddo (there's also a branch line to the Apapa Port) and goes through Abeokuta, Ibadan, Ilorin, Kaduna and terminates in Kano. It is a narrow gauge line.
The Western line began with the Lagos-Ibadan line which was built between 1891 and 1896, it reached Kano in 1912 and it was later extended to Nguru in 1930.
2) Eastern Line: The Eastern Line was primarily built to move coal from Enugu to the port at Port Harcourt. Port Harcourt was also built for the same reason (to serve as a port for the shipment of coal). Coal was shipped to Great Britain and to the power plant at Ijora in Lagos.
The Eastern Line was extended to Jos, to move tin from the tin mines there and it was also connected to the Western Line in Kaduna. The Government of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa extended the Eastern Line to Maiduguri. It is a narrow gauge line.
The Eastern Line began with the Port-Harcourt to Enugu Line that was built between 1913 and 1916. It was extended to Kaduna in 1927 and it was later extended to Maiduguri between 1958 and 1964.
3) Central Line: The Central Line was constructed by the government of General Ibrahim Babangida (construction began in 1987). It was built to convey iron from the iron mines at Itakpe to the steel mill at Ajaokuta and to convey the steel from Ajaokuta to Warri Port. It is a standard gauge line. The line was not completed.
There have been plans to build new standard gauge lines on the western and eastern axis, along the same corridor as the old narrow gauge lines.
The government of President Goodluck Jonathan began the Kaduna-Abuja rail line on the Western Axis. The government of President Muhammadu Buhari completed it and also built the Lagos-Ibadan line on the Western axis. The Government is currently building the Kano-Kaduna leg of the Western Line. When that is completed, all that will be left is the Ibadan-Ilorin and Ilorin-Abuja segments of the line.
The Government of Muhammadu Buhari also completed the Warri-Itakpe Line (the Central Line). There are plans to extend it to Abuja.
The Muhammadu Buhari Administration had declared that it would focus on completing existing projects, rather than starting new ones and so it focused on completing the Western and Central Lines. There is also a plan to build a standard gauge Eastern Line (Port-Harcourt to Maiduguri) but that has not commenced yet (which has caused annoyance among people of the North-East and South-East).
There is a proposal to build a coastal line, from Lagos to Calabar, but it hasn't been built yet. Critics complain that the colonialists were only interested in exploiting resources from Nigeria, rather than giving Nigerians good infrastructure and that's why they built rail lines from the hinterland in the north, to the ports in the south. For example, the critics point out that if you want to go from Lagos to Enugu by rail, you'd first have to go all the way up to Kaduna, before you can get to Enugu.
When I heard this criticism back in the 1980s, I often asked, "So why haven't we built it? The colonialists have been gone since 1960, so why haven't we built a rail line from east to west? We can't keep blaming them".
naptu2: The Buhari Administration began the Kaduna - Kano leg of the Western Line and the Tinubu Administration will finish it.
President Tinubu has gone to China to finalise the deal for the construction of the Ibadan - Ilorin and Ilorin - Abuja legs of the line.
The idea to build the Eastern and Western standard gauge lines was conceived during the administration of President Obasanjo. Yar'Adua did not follow through, but Goodluck Jonathan continued it.
The Central Line was conceived during the administration of President Shehu Shagari. It was started by the Babangida Administration and finished by the Buhari Administration. However, the Buhari Administration proposed that it should be extended to Abuja.
I'll tell you about Lord Harcourt later.
naptu2: The Eastern Line goes through places like Port Harcourt, Aba, Umuahia, Enugu, Makurdi, Jos, Bauchi and Maiduguri.
The Western Line goes through places like Lagos, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Ilorin, Jebba, Minna, Kaduna and Kano.
The Central Line goes through Warri, Abraka, Agbor, Igbanke, Agenebode, Uromi, Ajaokuta and Itakpe.
In the first map below, the narrow gauge lines are in purple and the standard gauge lines are in red.
Kaduna-Kano Rail 80-85% Complete, On Track for December
July 29, 2026
The Federal Government has reaffirmed December 2026 as the deadline for the completion and commissioning of the Kaduna–Kano and Kano–Daura sections of the Kano–Maradi Railway Development Project.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transportation, Engr. Funsho Adebiyi, gave the assurance during an inspection by Debt Management Office officials led by DG Patience Oniha, noting the overall project is 70-75% complete, with the Kaduna–Zaria–Kano section at 80-85% and undergoing finishing works, having created over 4,500 jobs including 200 expatriates.
Chaolin: All the rail project are all in north and south west, what happened to other part of the country why no rail project we are hearing especially the south south that lay the golden egg nothing.
Ijaw, ibibio,efik,urhobo, ikwerre ogoni look what ONE NIGERIAN have done to you
If adaka boro, ken saro wiwa,harry marshal, and other of your leaders are alive they would have seen the Nigerian they fight on their side
Governor Yusuf Receives FG Delegation Ahead Of Groundbreaking Of Kano Light Rail Project
Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has received a delegation from the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) and Mota-Engil Nigeria ahead of the groundbreaking ceremony of the Kano Light Rail Project recently approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Governor's spokesman Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa which indicates that the delegation, led by the Dr. Armstrong Ume Takang of Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) and the Chairman of Mota-Engil Nigeria, Mr. Kola Karim met with the Governor at the Kano State Governor's Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja, to brief him on the level of preparations for the commencement of the project.
The Kano Light Rail Project, approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at a contract sum of ₦1.05 trillion, is expected to transform urban transportation in Kano, improve connectivity, ease traffic congestion and stimulate economic activities across the state.
Governor Yusuf welcomed the delegation and reiterated the commitment of the Kano State Government to working closely with the Federal Government and the project contractors to ensure the successful execution of the landmark infrastructure project.
He described the light rail initiative as a strategic investment that will strengthen Kano's position as the commercial hub of Northern Nigeria while providing residents with a modern, safe and efficient mass transit system.
The Governor further expressed profound appreciation to the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tunubu for considering to benefit from the laudable project.
He also extended special gratitude to Abubakar Kabir Bichi, Chairman House Committee on Appropriation for providing necessary legislative support on the project.
Travel › Re: Kaduna-Kano Rail 80-85% Complete, On Track For December by naptu2(op): 1:18pm On Aug 02
