Public–Private Participation to Rescue Railway Development in Nigeria Joshua Adetunji Odeleye
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Feature Railways in Nigeria Public–Private Participation to Rescue Railway Development in Nigeria Joshua Adetunji Odeleye This article suggests public–private strategies, such as public–private Introduction partnership as a remedy for the ailing partnerships, and build–operate–transfer railway system in Nigeria with a view to (BOT) arrangements, as well as old Railway transport in Nigeria is inefficient developing the nation’s railway system to strategies such as privatization, are being and has hardly developed at all over the international standards for the next adopted in an attempt to enhance railway past 100 years compared to railways in the millennium. safety, punctuality, and reliability. developed world. This is due both to Furthermore, there is increasing interest maladministration by successive Comparing Railway worldwide in development of transport by governments and to the lack of a functional Developments expanding high-speed rail networks such transport policy ensuring a constant pattern as the shinkansen in Japan and the TGV in of railway development. The 100% Railway administration in developed France. New non-rail technologies like the ownership by the national government has nations like Japan, France, and Canada, has Japanese MAGLEV are being investigated. contributed greatly to this neglect. become more rational with time. New The priority for these changes has Figure 1 Nigeria Railway Network NIGER CHAD Lake Chad Nguru Kaura Namoda Kaugama Gusau Ringim Dabi Maiduguri Kucheri Kano Funtua Dangora Gabai Zaria NIGERIA Kaduna BENIN Bauchi Combe Kurnin Bin Jos Zungeru Kuchi Bukuru Tabu Kafanchan Kuru Bokan Minna Jagindi Kwakwi Kodokotank Kagoro Jebba Abuja Badaggi Gudu Katcha R. Niger R. Benue Baro Lafia Ilorin Bericheri N Offa Kadenko Itape Oshogbo Makurdi Ibadan Lafenwa Ajaokuta Abeokuta Oturkpo Ilaro Ifo Jc Utonkon Idogo Ebute CAMEROON Apapa Quay Okitipupa Enugu Lagos Benin City Nomah Onitsha Warri Umuahia 0 50 100 km Calabar Aba Atlantic Ocean : NRC 1067 mm gauge Port Onne Harcourt : 1435 mm gauge : 1435 mm under construction : Proposed line Source: NRC 1999 42 Japan Railway & Transport Review 23 • March 2000 Copyright © 2000 EJRCF. All rights reserved. environmental undertones, and railways are increasingly being seen as environment- friendly. In developed countries, transport policy is dynamic and changes responsively according to technological trends in the transport sector. Government policy in respect of rail transport innovation and development are fairly consistent and largely limited to policymaking and execution. Meanwhile, the railway infrastructure and provision of services are largely left in the hands of private enterprises. This approach has generally enhanced efficiency, punctuality, and reliability. Novel management approaches such as BOT and design–build–operate–transfer Poor state of tracks before rehabilitation (Author) (DBOT) have made it easier to fund railway rehabilitation from various sources (both east–west network, no operating standard local and international). Good examples gauge, and almost no double track in the Nigeria Railway are Bangkok’s Skytrain elevated rail system, existing system. Furthermore, the urban the Great Belt Fixed Link in Denmark and rail network across the urban sprawl, and Railway construction was started by the the joint Øresund Strait project between newly emerged industrial and commercial British colonial government in Nigeria in Denmark and Sweden. zones as well as Abuja, the new Federal 1898 from Lagos in the Southern By comparison, governments in developing capital territory of Nigeria, are yet to be Protectorate. Railways were seen by the countries like Nigeria are still grappling linked by rail. administration as a better way of with the old concepts of government as the Expansion of the rail network with new consolidating power in the newly acquired sole railway operator and owner supplying technology could usher in monorails, territory. Also, railways were developed all rail infrastructure and services. This automated guided trains, light railways, to gain access to the rich agricultural and approach is in strong contradiction to the etc. These systems would be more energy mineral resources in the hinterland, fact that all governments, especially those efficient and environment-friendly than explaining the diagonal orientation of the in developing countries, have rarely the rickety mini-buses, cars, tricycles, network running inland from the two major excelled in business ventures, due to an motorcycles, etc., that pass for urban mass seaports of Lagos and Port Harcourt overburdening bureaucratic approach to transit in most cities in Nigeria. (Figure 1). most issues. Clearly, development of rail transport in The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) This background explains the poor state Nigeria into a more dependable, regular, was established by an Act of Parliament of railway transport in Nigeria. Despite a safe and efficient system must be supported in 1955 for the main purpose of carriage history of 100 years, government support and given priority by the government of passengers and freight in a cost-effective has never been adequate and has led through introduction of private initiatives. manner. directly over the years to high levels of The very low average speed of just 20 km/h The development of railways in Nigeria worn-out railway infrastructure and poor caused by worn-out infrastructure, high in the early 20th century contributed to services. For example, the last kilometres gradients, sharp curves and other track the growth of many towns that ultimately of rail were laid in 1958–64 between Kuru problems are one of the first candidates for became large industrial commercial cities, and Maiduguri in north-east Nigeria, improvement. Likewise, problems of poor such as Kaduna, Bauchi, Kano, Oshogbo, bringing the total track length to 3505 km. management, underfunding, inconsistent Ibadan, Lagos, Enugu, Kafanchan, and However, most of the network is old policy, political interference and instability, Port Harcourt (Table 1). The railway also narrow-gauge single track running and inflexible bureaucracy must become helped develop the early potential of diagonally across the country—there is no things of the past. tourism. Copyright © 2000 EJRCF. All rights reserved. Japan Railway & Transport Review 23 • March 2000 43 Railways in Nigeria in the mid 1980s, the number of airports Table 1 Development of Nigeria Railway Network increased from 2 in 1970 to 16 in 1990. By contrast, the length of railway network Construction Location Length (km) Geographic axis stayed constant at 3505 route-km over the 1898–1901 Lagos–Ibadan 193 last 100 years. For comparison, the South–West 1901–1909 Ibadan–Jebba 295 Japanese railway network expanded 1907–1911 Kano–Baro 562 progressively from 0 to about 27,000 km North 1909–1915 Jebba–Minna 255 between 1872 and 1998. These shocking statistics point out the 1914–1916 Port Harcourt–Enugu 243 East and urgent need to redesign, expand and Central 1922–1927 Kafanchan–Jos 179 renovate the Nigerian railway into an 1927–1958 None 0 efficient nationwide network serving both 1958–1961 Kafanchan–Bauchi 238 industrial and agricultural zones and North–East 1961–1964 Bauchi–Maiduguri 302 facilitating development of the cash-crop 1999 Field survey—not including branch lines economy in the hinterlands as well. A similar far-sighted approach is needed for dealing with the traffic snarls and urban sprawl in the new industrial and commercial zones across Nigeria. Figure 2 Route-km and Land Area of Nigerian States Figure 2 clearly shows the high disparity in rail coverage in each state and is another 8000 justification for private involvement in 7,636 Route-km 7,090 Land Area (10km2) railway development. 7000 6,461 6,574 6000 5,803 5,447 5000 Railways and Politics 4,605 4,550 4000 3,692 3,680 3,683 At independence in 1960, Nigerians 3000 2,983 2,845 2,419 2,096 inherited a vibrant, buoyant, flourishing 2,016 1,780 2,315 2,185 Route-km and land area 2000 2,013 and efficient railway system from the 1,770 1,283 1,676 1000 colonial administration. Although the 708 484 536 537 925 732 632 389 553 335 230 201 195 259 158 180 137 140 64 150 33 97 64 37 110 22 0 single-track narrow-gauge network ran diagonally across the country, it was well Edo Imo Oyo Abia Delta Kano Kogi Yobe BenueBorno Enugu Kebbi KwaraLagosNigerOgunOndoOsun Rivers Bauchi JigawaKaduna Katsina Plateau SokotoTaraba Adamawa Anambra able to haul all the agricultural products Akwa-ibom Cross river States grown in the far north to the seaports at Lagos and Port Harcourt. The contribution Sources: Railnews, 1996 and Annual Abstract of Statistics, 1997 Edition (FOS) of groundnuts from northern Nigeria, palm oil from eastern Nigeria and cacao from the new capital of Abuja. By comparison, western Nigeria to the flourishing Nigerian Railway and Road Networks in 1992, there were 32,180 km of all- economy at the time are reminders of the weather federal roads not including state good old railway era. Nigeria covers 923,768 km2 but there are and rural roads. However, further development of the still only 3505 route-km of railways, of railways was abandoned in favour of road which 1788 km are sharp curves. They Priority for Expansion of transport by successive governments. are all single-track 1067-mm gauge with Railway Network Roads were expanded without any either steel or timber sleepers. A short consideration of the attendant effects such 75-km standard-gauge section is under Concurrent