Lagos–Kano Standard Gauge Railway
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The Lagos–Kano Standard Gauge Railway is a -long
standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
under construction in
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
. Once complete, the railway will connect the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
port city of
Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...
to
Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria *Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State ** Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries ** Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom betwee ...
, near the border with
Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...
, passing through the national capital of
Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...
. The railway replaces the
Cape gauge A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...
Western Line built by the British in 1896–1927, which has a lower design capacity and is in a deteriorated condition. Two segments of the railway have been completed and begun passenger trains. The segment between
Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...
and
Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade center and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern state ...
officially opened in July 2016. The segment between
Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...
and
Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the List of Nigerian cities by population, third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano (city), Kano, with a total populatio ...
was flagged off in June 2021.


Construction

After
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
became independent from
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
, the colonial-era railways progressively fell into a state of disrepair. Passenger traffic on the Nigerian railways fell from 11 million in 1964 to 1.6 million in 2003. Freight traffic almost collapsed, falling from 3 million tonnes in 1964 to less than 100,000 tonnes in 2000. In early 2013, it took 31 hours for passenger trains to travel between
Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...
and
Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria *Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State ** Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries ** Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom betwee ...
, at an average speed of just 45 km/h. Although projects have begun to rehabilitate the
Cape gauge A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...
railways, economic growth in
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
has made a
standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
line desirable. In 2006, the Nigerian government awarded a $8.3 billion contract to the
China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd. (abbreviation CCECC) was established in June 1979 under the approval of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. CCECC developed from the earlier Foreign Aid Department of the Min ...
to construct a standard gauge railway from Lagos to Kano. Due to an inability to secure funding for the whole project, the Nigerian government decided to build the standard gauge line in segments and rehabilitate the narrow-gauge line in the meantime.


Abuja–Kaduna

The 187 km segment from
Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...
to
Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade center and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern state ...
was the first to be built.
Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...
was not on the national railway network, as it was purpose-built as a capital city after Nigeria became independent from Great Britain. Kaduna is an important junction point on the existing
Cape gauge A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...
railway network, where a branch line departs the Lagos–Nguru line for Kafanchan, on the Port Harcourt–Maiduguri Railway. The construction of the Abuja–Kaduna segment cost $876 million, consisting of $500 million in loans from the
Exim Bank of China Exim is a mail transfer agent (MTA) used on Unix-like operating systems. Exim is a free software distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License, and it aims to be a general and flexible mailer with extensive facilities for checkin ...
and the balance coming from the Nigerian government. The
China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd. (abbreviation CCECC) was established in June 1979 under the approval of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. CCECC developed from the earlier Foreign Aid Department of the Min ...
(CCECC) began construction of the railway on 20 February 2011, and it began laying track in 2013. However, various difficulties delayed the completion of the route. Railway supplies were being stolen by miscreants, forcing CCECC to build a corridor fence to secure the tracks. The decline in the value of the Nigerian naira led to a shortfall in government funding for the project. Delays arose in the acquisition of land required for the railway through
compulsory purchase Compulsion, Compulsive, Compelling, or Compulsory may refer to: Psychology * Compulsive behavior, a psychological condition in which a person does a behavior compulsively, having an overwhelming feeling that they must do so. * Obsessive–compu ...
. Although CCECC had marked the Daughters of Charity hospital in Abuja for demolition in 2014, the government did not pay compensation to the hospital until April 2016. The railway was officially inaugurated on 26 July 2016.


Warri–Itapke

In 1987, the Nigerian government awarded a contract to build the country's first standard gauge railway, linking the mines at
Itakpe Itakpe is a town in Kogi State, Nigeria. The Itakpe Hills in and around the town of Itakpe contain very pure deposits of iron ore. The National Iron Ore Mining Company is located here. It supplies the steel Steel is an alloy of iron and c ...
to the
Ajaokuta Steel Mill Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited (ASCL) popularly known as Ajaokuta Steel Mill is a steel mill in Nigeria, located in Ajaokuta, Kogi State, Nigeria. Built on a site starting in 1979, it is the largest steel mill in Nigeria, and the coke oven and ...
and onwards to the port city of
Warri The city of Warri is an oil hub within South-South Nigeria and houses an annex of the Delta State Government House. Warri City is one of the major hubs of the petroleum industry in Nigeria. Warri, Udu, Okpe and Uvwie are the commercial ...
. However, the project stagnated and was still not finished when the Abuja–Kaduna line opened. CCECC took over construction on the line and, on 29 September 2020, it was officially inaugurated by President
Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...
in a virtual ceremony. In October 2019, the government signed a $3.9 billion contract with the
China Railway Construction Corporation Limited China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (abbreviated CRCC) is a listed construction enterprise based in Beijing, China, that was the second largest construction and engineering company in the world by revenue in 2014. The limited company ...
to extend the railway from Warri to Abuja, connecting it to the Lagos–Kanos Standard Gauge Railway. On 29 September 2020, the Warri–Itakpe Railway was officially inaugurated by President
Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...
in a virtual ceremony. Passenger trains began running in October 2020, and freight service began in April 2021.


Lagos–Ibadan

A $1.53 billion contract was awarded in 2012 to the
China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd. (abbreviation CCECC) was established in June 1979 under the approval of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. CCECC developed from the earlier Foreign Aid Department of the Min ...
for construction of the Lagos–Ibadan segment (156 km) of the standard gauge railway by 2016. However, the project has also faced delays. A ground-breaking ceremony finally took place on 7 March 2017, and the railway was scheduled for completion in December 2018. Construction was delayed by heavy rains in Spring 2018, and the Nigerian government had to deploy soldiers to protect the railway workers from hoodlums and armed robbers. Construction was further delayed by the
2019 Nigerian general election General elections were held in Nigeria on 23 February 2019 to elect the President of Nigeria, President, Vice President of Nigeria, Vice President, House of Representatives (Nigeria), House of Representatives and the Senate of Nigeria, Senate. ...
, when CCECC evacuated its Chinese employees as a precaution. Progress was slowed in 2020 by the
social distancing In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious dise ...
needed to fight the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, as only 20 workers were present on construction sites that once held 200. Passenger trains began trial operations on 7 December 2020. Nobel laureate
Wole Soyinka Wole Soyinka , (born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian author, best known as a playwright and poet. He has written three novels, ten collections of short stories, seven poetry collections, twenty five plays and five memoirs. He also wrote two transla ...
became a frequent passenger on the train, calling it "a very impressive work in progress considering the difficulty of really executing anything in this country." The railway was officially inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari on 10 June 2021.


Other segments

On 15 May 2018, the Nigerian Minister of Transportation signed a $6.68 billion contract with the
China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd. (abbreviation CCECC) was established in June 1979 under the approval of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. CCECC developed from the earlier Foreign Aid Department of the Min ...
to complete the remaining segments of the Lagos–Kano Standard Gauge Railway. Construction is expected to take 2–3 years from the availability of funds. In January 2015, the
China Development Bank China Development Bank (CDB) is a policy bank of China under the State Council. Established in 1994, it has been described as the engine that powers the national government's economic development policies.
announced that it was proving a $254.76 million loan for the construction of the Kaduna-Kano segment of the line. * Ibadan-Osogbo-Ilorin (200 km) * Osogbo–Ado Ekiti * Ilorin-Minna (270 km) * Minna–Abuja * Kaduna-Kano (305 km)


Operation

The completion of the Abuja–Kaduna line in 2016 came at a critical time for ground transport in the region. Starting in 2009, the Abuja–Kaduna Expressway fell into a state of lawlessness as it was besieged by armed robbers and kidnappers. Many of the victims were prominent government officials, including Sierra Leone's High Commissioner to Nigeria. Fearing for their safety, travelers flocked to the train. Daily patronage increased 270% to 3,700, and railway officials were accused of and arrested for ticket racketeering. Senator
Mohammed Ali Ndume Mohammed Ali Ndume (born 20 November 1959) is a Nigerian politician who has served as the senator representing Borno South senatorial district since 2011. He was a member of the House of Representatives of Nigeria from 2003 to 2011. He is curren ...
reported that he had to stand on the train for the whole trip, and Senator James Manager said, "It is one who wants to commit suicide that will take the road." In September 2023 Angel Trains, who lease trains to UK operators, were reported to be negotiating with Nigeria to sell redundant Great Western Railway High Speed Train sets with Class 43 high speed locomotives for operation in Nigeria. Rail Express Magazine no.329 Other trains of this type have been exported from the UK to Mexico in 2023.


Accidents and incidents

On 28 March 2022, a passenger train on the Abuja-Kaduna line was attacked by bandits. At least 8 people were killed and 65 were kidnapped.


See also

*
Rail transport in Nigeria Railways in Nigeria consist of a 3,505 km Cape gauge national railway network and 669 km of standard gauge. The Cape gauge network is in poor condition due to lack of maintenance. In 2019, the single operational standard gauge line fro ...
*
Railway stations in Nigeria Railway stations in Nigeria include: Maps UN MapUNHCR Atlas Map Cities served by rail The East (E) and West (W) lines are connected by the Link Line. West Line * Apapa (W) - Lagos. Port ; flour mill ; oil terminals * Lagos (W) (0&nbs ...
*
Warri–Itakpe Railway The Ujevwu–Itakpe Railway is a standard-gauge railway in Nigeria that connects the port city of Warri to the inland town of Itakpe. Construction began in 1987 on an industrial railway to supply the Ajaokuta Steel Mill with iron ore and coal. Af ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lagos-Kano Standard Gauge Railway Rail transport in Nigeria Railway lines in Nigeria Railway stations under construction in Nigeria Rail transport in Lagos Railway lines opened in 2016 Standard-gauge railways in Nigeria