The federal government has said 24-hour surveillance mechanisms and immediate response apparatus will be introduced on the Abuja-Kaduna rail corridor before the train services resume.
The Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, stated this in Abuja when members of the NRC Governing Board paid him a courtesy visit.
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Briefing the board on what the government is doing concerning the resumption of rail services, the minister said commercial operations would resume after security measures are installed to forestall the recurrence of train attacks in the country.
“We are looking at how the rail lines can be safe by putting up 24 hours surveillance and immediate response apparatus,” he said.
He said the security measures would include short- and long-term plans, with the short-term plans taking effect from November.
Speaking further, Sambo said in addition to the security measures, he had promised Nigerians that rail services would become operational only when those kidnapped on the Abuja-Kaduna train have regained their freedom and are reunited with their families.
Earlier, the chairman of the NRC Board, Engr. Ibrahim Alhassan Musa, told the minister that due to the high cost of diesel, the cost of running the trains was very high, adding that in fact, they were running at a loss.
He called on the minister to intervene as railway service is one of the things the present administration prides itself on, especially the Lagos-Ibadan, the Warri-Itakpe and the Abuja-Kaduna railway lines.
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