Nigeria can only hope to achieve its dream of becoming one of the world’s 20 most developed economies by the year 2020 if the current long term plan for the development of the nation’s railway system is sustained, a German railway expert, Mr. Herbert Krucker has said.

Speaking in Abuja at a workshop on railway development hosted by the Railway Initiative, Mr. Krucker, Secretary of Germany based Railway Watch said no nation had ever developed without a modern and efficient railway system. Mr. Krucker said a fast moving modern railway system would help the country respond to the challenges of development as they arise.

Specifically, he said such a system would act as a catalyst for the accelerated growth of other sectors of the economy in addition to providing an avenue for mass employment. An efficient rail system, he added would also help in preserving the nation’s road network which for now give way quickly due to too much pressure from the large number of passengers and goods which would otherwise have been transported by rail.
Mr. Krucker described the existing railway system as outdated and dysfunctional and praised the Federal Government for initiating the 25 year railway development programme.

The government had last year awarded an $8.3 million contract for the modernization of the nation’s rail system under a 25 year strategic development programme.The contract was awarded to Chinese Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CECC) as a turnkey package entailing the design, construction and maintenance of about 1,315 kilometres of standard gauge double track railway line from Lagos to Kano.
The railway line which passes through eight state capitals and the Federal Capital Territory is the first phase of the railway development programme and is expected to be completed within 48 months.