‘Repair Of Damaged Rail Track May Last 2 Weeks’

Repairing the damaged portion of the Abuja-Kaduna rail track may take about two weeks following the extent of the damage.

This followed the initial evaluation of the extent of damage in the aftermath of the terrorist attack on a train on Monday which left nine people dead.

It was also learnt that the NRC engineers and those of the China Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation (CCECC) have been mobilised to assess the extent of the damage and the level of repair works to be carried out.

But from all indications, passengers on the axis may have to wait for about two weeks before the resumption of the train service as no fewer than 1,200 rail sleepers would be replaced.

When contacted last night, the managing director of NRC, Fidet Okhiria, said, “We are looking at two weeks because we have to repair the tracks.”

Okhiria also assured that the NRC would deploy the integrated surveillance and communication equipment as soon as the corporation got approval for the project.

He said, “We have done our aspect by prescribing the correct thing and the minister has also passed it to the appropriate agencies.”

Meanwhile, the minister of transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, yesterday, visited victims of the train attack at the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna.

Among those he visited were a former deputy governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Ibrahim Wakkala, and Katsina State commissioner for health, Nuhu Danja.