“In a riveting story last year, rail expert Rowland Ataguba, a member of the NRC, (sic) offered a penetrating analysis of ‘The Trouble With ‘Abuja Light Rail.’ If we are not to be back here within a couple of years trying to restart Phase I of this novel rail system, the government must put it in the hands of such people and step back”

Thank you Sonola Olumhense the veteran journalist for your kindness over my interview on the Abuja Rail Mass Transit . I’m indeed privileged to find myself on the right side of this witty and highly accomplished wordsmith.

I have enjoyed reading his articles and particularly his papers on transportation and the railway especially. This one on ARMT is no exception. It is very well researched and the links to references are helpful.

He is also gracious to the FCTA in terms of his expectations for the sustainability of a rail service on the phase one alignment between the central area and the airport. A free train service will run for 2 months the honourable minister has announced. How many trains a day is as yet unclear, who will operate the service and the institutional framework for the transit is unclear. Where is the FCTA’s version of LAMATA for instance? The regulator will be the NRC who is also the conflicted operator of the Abuja-Kaduna intercity service.

While the minister is to be congratulated for his tenacity in the resuscitation of the metro, we must remember that he has only taken us to where we were 6 years ago (2018) when it was commissioned by the then President Buhari.

There will be a need to synchronise timetables so that the intercity train and metro compliment each other. So travellers from Kaduna arriving Idu can use the metro into the central area or airport and vice versa seamlessly. An important consideration would be integrating ticketing systems for both so that a ticket can be purchased for trips spanning both rail systems.

So there is a lot that is not yet in place and they would challenge operations sustainability in the long run. It is likely that CCECC will be asked to operate the service for the time being but this can only be a stop gap. CCECC are not railway operators but constructors, and there is a need to develop domestic capacity by appointing a dedicated operator. This needs addressing urgently.

The railway bill is undergoing legislative action in the NASS at present. This should see to the emergence of an independent railway regulator. This would bring the required integrity to our railway operations management. In the near term however, some incoherence can be expected.

Notwithstanding, it is great that the metro is returning but we must not rest because there is a lot more to do.