I hope President Tinubu uses his two week vacation to meet up with UK rail franchise operators like Virgin and sell them a vision that looks like with the hope of attracting investment into the sector

Ayo Akinfe

[1] We want to get all Nigerian trains to operate using electricity as from 2026. Diesel engines will be phased out over the next two years

[2] Within five years, we plan to turn Nigeria into the world’s largest manufacturers of rail carriages and engines. Today, India calls itself the pharmacy of the world. Nigeria aims to do something identical with rail

[3] As part of this revolutionary rail policy, we also plan to introduce double decker trains carriages. With a population of 200m, Nigeria has no choice but to show such innovation

[4] Every one of Nigeria’s 774 local government areas will be linked to a national rail network. No Nigerian should be denied access to rail. Every village must be connected to the national rail grid

[5] By 2030, Nigeria plans to start using the Maglev magnetic levitation train technology. Only China has really developed this technology so far but we shall mass-produce such trains and railway lines

[6] We will have a high speed rail service linking Lagos and Abuja. It would run at about 250km per hour at the very least. This would allow the journey to be completed in three hours at the maximum

[7] All our African neighbours will be encouraged to place orders for their rail carriages, coaches and engines with Nigeria. This is part of an ambitious plan to make Nigeria the continent’s industrial workshop

[8] We will create the Nigerian Railway Equipment Manufacturing Company with a mandate to mass produce railway tracks, signalling equipment, carriages, signal boxes, engines, etc. Our slogan will be: “Anything you want, we can deliver.”

[9] By 2027, the Nigerian Railway Corporation will have its own power plant that generates its own electricity to power the network

[10] Nigeria will open a Railway College of Technology where staff are trained on all spects of railway know-how. People will come from all over the world to be trained there

Ayoakinfe@gmail.com