The federal government has hinted that it is set to install the digital security network to enable it know when there is an impact on the rail tracks following the recent explosion on the Abuja-Kaduna corridor.
Government, through the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, said what the explosion has done was to fasten the procurement process of a digital security system that will be put in place.
Amaechi, while on inspection to the scene of the explosion, said: “the request for the installation had gone to cabinet two weeks ago and it was returned so we will represent it to cabinet to ensure that we get approval, then we can install the digital security network. I think what is significant is that the repair was done by our own Nigerian engineers and completed in record time. By tomorrow we expect to run the first train.”
According to him, “the essence of the digital security system is to enable us know when there is an impact on the rail. It has a sensor, when people walk across the rail we will be able to know
We will get the police to be involved so that they will be here before we install the security system.”
Amaechi, while briefing Journalists on the sidelines of his findings, said: “We want to assure the public that beyond theo-physical presence of police and deployment of the military along this track, I just told the Managing Director, NRC to get us a rail bus that will be on patrol regularly on the tracks so that we can see what is going to happen even before the train takes off that will be the measure we will adopt until we put a digital system in place. And it will be end to end from Abuja-Kaduna and it will the same thing for Lagos-Ibadan.”
Speaking on capacity of indigents, the minister said, “I’m happy. What this has also done is that it has shown that we actually have the capacity to fix our rail, stating, by the time the Chinese leaves, we should start gradual process of constructing out own railway.
“You can see the lady engineer, however she can be able to fix that, she and her colleagues will be able to do more kilometers of track laying and possibly track construction and n assurance to public, that is why I had to come here myself physically to be present here, “Amaechi said.
Similarly, the Managing Director, Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Mr Fidet Okhiria, advocated for frequent operations of coaches on the axis.
He noted: “It is better to run more trains as running more trains would not give people the opportunity to tamper/interfere with the tracks, because a train just passed from Abuja to kaduna not quite 30 minutes when the explosion were executed and planted. And if we have all trains, the people would have to work very hard to be able to plant explosives. I believe that when we restart we would start with 8trips when we come back tomorrow, maybe tomorrow; we may run four trips but Sunday eight trips because Sunday is a busy day. So tomorrow we are running four trips so that we can run from Abuja to kaduna and balance the train set while we are working on the locomotive that were affected.
Source: ThisdayLive
