January 19, 2015 – The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) said it taken delivery of additional five 68-seater coaches which will be deployed to Makurdi- Eastern corridors to enhance its activities along the routes.
The coaches were designed and manufactured in china specifically for the corporation’s narrow gauge railway system by CSR Nanjing Puzhen Company and Kintech Nigeria Ltd.
Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos, Managing Director of Nigeria Railway, Engr. Adeseyi Sijuade said the 68-seater coaches will commence operation soon.
According to him, apart from the five 68-seater coaches, the corporation recently took delivery of two 16-seater rail buses and eighteen 5-seater motorised trolleys for monitoring and maintenance of the rail networks.
It will be recalled that the corporation had commissioned six 68-seater aircondtioned coaches in April 2014, bringing the total of coaches in its fleet to eleven.
Sijuade said the newly acquired airconditioned coaches will be deployed to Markurdi Railway Station on Thursday January 22, 2015 which will invariably mark the flagging off of the Markurdi to Port Harcourt Intercity Passenger Service.
“the coaches will be deployed over the next two weeks on an extension of the train service from Markurdi to Gombe passing through Lafia, Kafanchan, Kuru, Jos, Bauchi and with a spur line from Kafanchan to Kaduna.
“Remember that the Enugu to Port Harcourt Intercity Service was flagged off by his Excellency, the Vice President Arc. Namadi Sambo in December 2014,” he said.
Elaborating on the importance of the motorised trolleys, Assistant Director, Engr. Austine Ogbuayan said with the motorised trolleys on track, maintenance team can easily inspect the tracks to ensure that they are in good order before any train passes.
“In the past, we were using palm trolleys which normally take more time to arrive the affected areas but we have moved far away from that now that we have 18 of the trolleys means that we can actually deploy them across the country. The trolleys run on diesel because it last longer than petrol. With a full tank, one can go far and come back.”
