17 Feb 2013

Train line in Nigeria open again

8:09 am on 17 February 2013

Travel by train is making a comeback in Nigeria. A long defunct link is now open again between Lagos, the commercial capital in the south, and Kano, a northern city.

The BBC reports there's some hope that it could help unite a country which is reeling from an insurgency in the north. Lagos is largely Christian and Kano is mostly Muslim.

The Nigeria Railway Corporation says the rehabilitation of the track cost 24 billion naira (£98 million).

The price of a one-way ticket starts from 1930 naira (£7.50; $US12). The 1126km trip takes 1½ days and the BBC reports it is far cheaper and, some say, safer than travelling by road.

At the time of independence in 1960, Nigeria had about 3500km of railway track, built by the British to transport exports of palm oil.

Colonial reports show that 18 million gallons of palm oil were exported from southern Nigeria in 1908.

But most of the railway network has since been rendered redundant due to corruption and turmoil.

Now, the Nigerian government says a modern, extensive network is on the way.

Infrastructure consultant Rowland Ataguba said $US10 billion has been committed to the railways in the last six years.

Last year, the Railway Corporation acquired 20 pressurised tank wagons. The wagons have the capacity to carry 900,000 litres of petroleum products, the equivalent of 27 road tankers.