THE Federal Government yesterday took delivery of two double-end-drivers-cabin Standard gauge locomotive engines from China.
Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi took delivery of the two locomotives, which were discharged at the ENL Terminal, Lagos Ports Complex (LPC).
He explained that the two locomotives are part of a 20 locomotives engines expected in the country for the beginning of standard gauge rail operations.
The minister, who was represented by the Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Fidet Okhiria, an engineer, stated that 10 more locomotives are expected to arrive in the country by September.
According to Okhiria, “these two locomotives are specifically designed for passenger train movement. This locomotive have inbuilt power supply. This is unprecedented in the history of the NRC.
“It is designed for 150km per hour rail services and it is double-end drivers’ cabin. What this means is that on both ends of the locomotive, there is a driver’s cabin. What we used to have is a locomotive with only one driver’s cabin on one side.”
On the 20 locomotives being expected, the NRC MD said: “These two locomotives were ordered in 2014. On the 10 locomotives ordered in April, 2017, the manufacturers have asked that we come for factory acceptance test. We hope that by September, these 10 coaches will arrive in the country. The government just approved another seven locomotives, and we are in the process of raising letters of credit for those ones.
“With these two new additions, we intend to increase our return trips because the new locomotives will be running at a speed of 130km per hour as against the 90km per hour we are currently doing.
“The locomotives will be put to use for the Nigerian standard gauge rail project, although for now, we are only doing the Kaduna-Abuja standard gauge rail.”