Abigail ErhiagbojeManaging Director (MD) of the Nigerian Railway Corporations (NRC), Fidel Okhiria, has assured Nigerians, particularly importers, of the NRC’s commitment towards ensuring that improved and affordable services are rendered to them.
The Minister of Transportation, Saidu Alkali, recently launched the cargo movement on the single-gauge rail (SGR) from the Apapa port to Ibadan.
However, reactions from Nigerians trailing the launch as gleaned from comments on various social media platforms indicate that many are not yet excited about the cargo rail services.
Recent reports show that Nigerians have been shunning services of the cargo rail in spite of the NRC’s promise to look into the matter.
The NRC MD, who appeared on Channels Television Sunrise Daily show on Friday morning said that the use of cargo rail transport is cheaper and more convenient for importers than the use of haulage trucks.
Okhiria claimed that the Corporation has had to bend backwards in terms of their charges for the convenience of Nigerians.
He said: “At the rail terminal, a fee, which is not charged on the road, is charged to load a cargo knowing that we cannot get to the factory as there are no sidings and we still need to move from the rail head to various locations, which involves another cost, lifting them off the wagon into the truck.
“So, by the time the costs are added the price becomes quite competitive. We also make sure to work our operational costs, so we don’t run at a loss.”
He also disclosed that they have pleaded with other companies partnering with them in the cargo rail service to reduce their costs.
According to him, the APM terminals, for instance, formerly charged N60,000 to load the rail, but has now brought down their cost to N40,000 and do not charge any other fee on the truck. He also stated that NRC has partnership with private individuals to use their trailers to help people move their containers to various locations.
The NRC MD also cited the case of another container terminal that has also reduced charges so that owners of goods could benefit from cargo rail services.
Speaking further on the advantages of using cargo rail, Okhiria explained that using it does not only get one’s containers delivered to the specified locations faster, but also makes it easier to track goods as one would only have to communicate with one person in the NRC compared to tracking 30-40 trailer drivers, depending on the number containers, to ensure safe arrival of one’s goods.
He also noted that using cargo rail would help a lot in reducing the wear and tear that trailers cause on Nigerian roads, make vehicles last longer, relieve drivers the stress of always travelling long distances, and also make goods arrive on time.
He also emphasized the fact that using cargo rail will save importers from a lot of negative factors that could affect the delivery of their containers.
In terms of the stabilisation of the prices of the various services at cargo rail terminals, he clarified that it was the duty of the transport minister and the president of the country to get it adjusted as they believe in the ability of the rail infrastructure to provide an enabling environment for business growth.
He added that the NRC usually charge clients after considering the cost of buying diesel for the journey before putting an additional fee for other ancillary services.
On the issue of NRC providing services at a cheaper price to importers, the MD explained that cargo rail had been built to carry containers weighing 70 tonnes against 40 tonnes a trailer could carry and that after a meeting, it was decided that the Corporation would not charge importers by the capacity of a cargo any longer (which is their standard of charging), but by the tonnage of the container that they were expected to carry, which is cheaper and would give relief to the importer/company intending to transport their goods.
The NRC MD further harped on the affordability of the cargo by estimating the cost of a trip from Lagos to Ibadan at N5.3 million naira, which according to him is far cheaper than travelling by road, in which a trailer may charge from N400,000- N500,000 per container.
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During the inauguration of cargo movement on the Lagos-Ibadan rail corridor, the Transportation Minister said: “The wagon freight train from Apapa port to Ibadan would move 90 containers daily, which would decongest the port and reduce demurrage for shippers.”
In terms of security, especially when moving goods to the Northern part of the country, the NRC boss assured Nigerians that the Corporation was working closely with the military and other security agencies to ensure the safety of cargoes and passengers in the entire rail transportation system, adding that operations would fully begin in Kano and Kaduna by December.
He also spoke on plans to fix damaged rail tracks, especially in Lagos, for smooth movement of train and that the cargo rail was expected to function between Lagos and Kano in the next three months.
According to him, plans are also ongoing to begin cargo train services from Port Harcourt to Aba by December this year.
The train could be monitored and communication could be made with the driver of the train to get information on the physical presence of the security people, like the police and civil defence, he further noted.
Speaking on financing of rail projects, Okhiria stated that even if the railway was constructed from loans, the repayment was between the Federal Government, and the lenders, and had nothing to do with the services rendered by the cargo rail.
He noted that the major concern of the NRC is being able to afford diesel to run affordable services to the people as they are not concerned about profit making since the government is the one paying their salaries.
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