Buhari to inaugurate new rail line connecting Abuja and Kaduna

A new railway line connecting the Nigerian capital Abuja and Kaduna, an economic city in the north, has successfully been completed and will be inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday.

According to government officials who inspected work done ahead of the inauguration, the development is meant to revive the economic viability of the two cities.

“This is only the beginning. Of course you know the story of the railway system. It is one of the projects that the president has accorded utmost priority. And the design includes everything from Kaduna to Kano to Lagos and the coastal city of Calabar,” said John Oyegun, the president of Nigeria’s All Progressives Congress Party.

Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi said: “The reason why we are even talking about getting people there is because they have not finished the Abuja metroline. The moment Abuja metroline is finished then it will pick railway passengers from Abuja and drop them at IDU .Then we will pick them from IDU and take to Kaduna.”

Amaechi was delighted about the speedy completion of the project which was first mooted in 2006 but was not realised.

The new train can carry over 330 passengers and run at a speed of between 60km/h and 150km/h.

The 1,400 km railway line also has 22 stations crossing the Niger Delta and Lagos and joins Calabar, a city located in the south-east of Nigeria, near the border with Cameroon.