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The Federal Government has inaugurated a 6.2 kilometer (KM) Port Harcourt – Aba railway project, marking the start of train operations between Abia and Rivers states.
The Minister of Transportation, Sen. Saidu Alkali, made the declaration during an in-ceremony of the rail service in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
Alkali said the project was part of the 1,443km Port Harcourt to Maiduguri narrow gauge rail project.
He said that the Port Harcourt to Aba section of the project was the initial part of the Eastern narrow-gauge railway, aiming to connect five geopolitical zones of the country.
“The Federal Government is pleased to inaugurate the train service from Port Harcourt to Aba, a key priority area of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.“We are grateful to God for the completion of the Port Harcourt to Aba section, which will bring succour to the people.“The Eastern narrow gauge covers five geo-political zones of the country, including South-South, South-East, North-Central, North- West, and North-East,” he said.Project to continue from Aba to Enugu
Furthermore, Alkali said that following the completion of the first segment and the start of commercial operations of the rail service, the federal government will soon commence the construction of the Aba to Enugu rail project, linking the two states together.
He added that his ministry is working with investors to ensure the conversion of the locomotive across the country from diesel to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to reduce transportation costs further.
“Shortly, we will take a train ride from Port Harcourt to Aba, which means that from today, passenger train service has commenced.“We will continue the project from Aba to Enugu and from Port Harcourt to both Onne and Port Harcourt seaports for freight services.“The ministry is currently in discussion with an investor to convert our locomotive from diesel to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to reduce transportation costs further,” he said.More Insights
The minister assured Nigerians that arrangements were being made with security agencies to ensure adequate security along the rail routes.
He also announced free train rides from Port Harcourt to Aba between May 1 to May 4.
“The train will depart from Port Harcourt to Aba at 8 a.m. daily, while it will leave Aba to Port Harcourt at 3 p.m. daily.“Full commercial operations will resume on May 7, 2024,” he said.
