Rail Transport in Nigeria- Where it all began!

The construction of railways in Nigeria started from Lagos Colony to Ibadan in March 1896, by the British government.

The Lagos Government Railway began operations in March 1901 and was extended to Minna in 1911, where it met the Baro–Kano Railway Station that was built by the government of Northern Nigeria between 1907 and 1911. The two lines were amalgamated in 1912 into the Government Department of Railways, the predecessor to the Nigerian Railway Corporation. The railway reached its northeastern terminus of Nguru in 1930.

After coal was discovered at Udi, the Eastern Railway was built to Port Harcourt between 1913 and 1916. This railway was extended to Kaduna via Kafanchan in 1927, connecting the Eastern Railway to the Lagos–Kano Railway. The Eastern Railway was extended to its northeastern terminus of Maiduguri between 1958 and 1964.




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The British colonial government completed Nigeria’s first rail infrastructure more than 100 years ago to aid the movement of agricultural goods from the northern region to the ports in the south.

The service began to decline in the 1970s due to a fall in agricultural exports, mismanagement and government neglect.

By 2009, the number of annual passenger rail trips in Nigeria had fallen from its 1963 heyday of 11 million to just one million.

The government is now trying to encourage more freight onto trains, because of the environmental benefits that it would bring; rail transport is very energy efficient. Compared to road transport whісh employs the uѕе of trucks, rail transportation ensures that goods that соuld оtherwіѕе be transported on а number of trucks are transported in а single shipment. Thіѕ saves а lot аѕ fаr аѕ cost connected to the transportation are concerned.

Transportation plays a pivotal role in the economic, political and social development of every
nation. No two locations will interact effectively without a viable means of movement. Rail
transportation can therefore provide substantially to the movement of passengers and freight
(goods).
Indeed, railways can provide the most cost-effective, affordable, energy saving and
environmentally friendly form of transport in Nigeria if adequate attention can be given to it
by the government. Rail transportation has capacity to link producers and consumers
together, making it easy to move raw materials, commodities and other finished products. An
efficient and effective rail transportation system in Nigeria is essential in supporting
economic growth and in fact serves as a corner stone to economic development.
Also, increase in volume of freight and passengers have the capacity and potential to increase
economic growth and employment in Nigeria if government can continue to increase its
investment in the rail transportation sub-sector. Increase in the number of locomotives,
coaches and cargoes will improve movement of passengers and goods will boost trade and
business activities, increase output, generate employment either directly or indirectly and
generate more revenue for the government.

In 2018, goods/ cargo transported by rail in Nigeria totaled about 328,630 tons. In that same year, roughly three million passengers in Nigeria traveled by rail.

Recently, there've been a massive improvement in the rail Transportation
Sector in Nigeria
and the citizens will only benefit massively positively from this change.

On Friday, April 16 2021, the freight services for Warri to Itakpe railway is to be commissioned, ushering a massive development in the sector and Nigeria's economy.

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