With China’s latest huge step in railway technology, it is time we signed a Sino-Nigerian Railway Pact guaranteeing technology transfer

Ayo Akinfe

[1] China has now developed world's fast high-speed train, the CR450, which has a top test speed of 450 km per hour and an operational speed of 400 km per hour

[2] This new train, which obliterates the 200km per hour speed of average high speed trains, will undergo comprehensive testing, verification and trial assessments in 2025. Nigeria needs to tell China that we want to be part of that programme

[3] Engineers are working hard to enhance this new train’s performance by reducing weight with new-type materials like carbon fibre composites and magnesium alloys, minimising noise and optimising other key features. Nigeria needs to make it clear that we do not want to be left behind as this technological revolution progresses

[4] Our pact with China should involve them opening a manufacturing plant in Nigeria

[5] This pact should also include the opening of at least two high speed Nigerian railway lines a year

[6] Our pact should also include extending our standard guage railway network to all of Nigeria’s 774 local government areas

[7] This pact should also include the construction of underground metros in cities like Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Ibadan

[8] We should also launch a West African Railway Network linking Lagos and Abuja with cities like Accra, Abidjan, Dakar, Niamey, Bamako, Ouagadougou, Freetown, Monrovia, Banjul, etc

[9] This agreement should have green element to it, committing West Africa to transporting at least half of its freight and passengers by train by 2035

[10] We should also build at least three railway crossings between Anambra and Delta State as part of the Sino-Nigerian agreement

ayoakinfe@gmail.com