Eastern Railway Service To Commence By December

Passenger service on the eastern railway route will commence before the end of December, an official of Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) said on Friday.

The District Manger, NRC, Eastern zone, Mr Felix Njoku, made the plan known in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia, Abia State.

“The eastern route of NRC stretches from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri through Makurdi and Kuru near Jos,” Njoku said.

He said that the December date was based on the successful rehabilitation of some parts of the eastern rail route.

“We told the public before now that barring all odds, railway operations along the eastern route would start in August.

“I am happy to state that government and the firm executing the project from Port Harcourt to Makurdi were able to achieve that target with the movement of trains from Port Harcourt to Enugu,” Njoku said.

Njoku explained that trains noticed along Port Harcourt/Enugu end of the eastern route were conveying equipment from Port Harcourt Wharf to Ehamufu Railway Station in Enugu State.

“With this feat, the NRC hopes that trains would once again move on the eastern rail line after years of suspension of operation,” the manager said.
Njoku added that the project on the third end, from Kuru to Maiduguri, was hampered by security challenges in the area.

He said with the reconnection of all the disconnected rail lines from Port Harcourt to Enugu, NRC hoped to commence passenger service before December.