NRC Opens National Rail Network To Private Train Operators
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has invited private companies to operate passenger and freight train services across its approximately 4,000-kilometre national rail network under a track-access arrangement designed to boost private-sector investment in railway transportation.
The NRC Managing Director, Dr Kayode Opeifa, disclosed this on Tuesday at the BusinessDay Mobility and Logistics Conference in Lagos, explaining that interested companies would be required to provide their own locomotives, wagons and other railway equipment while paying fees to access the corporation’s tracks.
Opeifa said the initiative was intended to encourage greater private-sector participation in railway operations, noting that the NRC was no longer interested in being the sole operator of trains on the national network.
According to him, private operators can bring in their own trains and equipment and utilise existing railway infrastructure in exchange for agreed access payments.
He likened the arrangement to motorists paying tolls to use public roads, stressing that the model would allow the corporation to maximise its infrastructure while reducing the burden of providing all the rolling stock needed for railway services.
The NRC chief cited the Lagos State Government, through the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, as an example of participation in the model. He also disclosed that the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation had secured a three-year licence to operate a self-operated railway freight service, making it the first private foreign contractor authorised to operate standard-gauge freight services in Nigeria.
Opeifa said the initiative would expand freight-handling capacity, improve passenger mobility, attract private investment and strengthen the railway system’s contribution to the country’s logistics and supply chain operations.
He added that the corporation was pursuing plans to rehabilitate the Lagos–Kano narrow-gauge railway to restore viable services towards Kano, with proposed extensions to Nguru in Yobe State and Kaura Namoda in Zamfara State.
The reconstruction of the Baro–Minna narrow-gauge railway is also among the corporation’s priorities. The proposed connection is expected to facilitate the transportation of agricultural produce and industrial goods through an integrated rail and inland-waterway transportation system.
Under its Vision 2:5:10:20 development framework, the NRC plans to expand Nigeria’s railway network from approximately 4,000 kilometres to 10,000 kilometres by 2028, with a long-term ambition of reaching 20,000 kilometres.
The corporation is also proposing new standard-gauge connections to improve access to major seaports and industrial centres.
Among the planned projects are extensions from the Lagos–Ibadan railway corridor to Apapa and Tin Can Island ports, which are expected to strengthen the movement of cargo between the ports and the hinterland.
Another proposed route would connect Lekki Deep Sea Port through Ijebu-Ode and Sagamu to Kajola, where it would link with the Lagos–Kano Standard Gauge Railway.
The planned connections are expected to improve freight movement, reduce pressure on road transportation and support trade by providing more efficient links between seaports, industrial facilities and inland markets.
Through the proposed track-access model and expansion plans, the NRC aims to increase private-sector involvement, improve the utilisation of existing infrastructure and position rail transportation as a more competitive component of Nigeria’s national transport system.
