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Buhari names railway project after Jonathan
Goodluck Jonathan
The Federal Government has named the Agbor Railway Station and Yard axis of the Warri-Itakpe Railway line after former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
The Minister of Transportation, Hon. Chibuike Amaechi stated this during the inspection and test-run of the new coaches meant for the completed Itakpe-Warri standard gauge rail line.
According to Amaechi who expressed satisfaction with the quality of work done by the contractors, CCECC and Julius Berger said,the team have all done a good job. Adding that the NRC must keep up the maintenance tempo.
” We will know if NRC has done a good job when they manage it properly because the issue is Maintenance. I don’t want to come here in the next four, five years and it looks worn out.
” I have seen the toilet facilities they look good but typical of us, I hope in the next five years it will be intact because in Kubwa now, those things look worn out, if you break anything, replace it or repair it. I think we should learn to maintain the infrastructure that we inherit,” stressed Amaechi.
Speaking on reopening of train services, Amaechi noted that the PTF guidelines on Covid-19 pandemic would be adhered to.
He further said, the reopening would result in train fare hike informed by the reduction of passengers, due to social distancing in conformity with the PTF guideline on a single trip.
“We need to maintain social distancing and ensure that we won’t be able to transmit COVID-19 amongst ourselves, now that is worst when you have to deal with 4000 passengers a day between Kaduna and Abuja.
” In fact, this is more like a test run. I told them I want only 30 persons and I’m sure we are more than that, so imagine what happens when you have to deal with passengers. This test run will make us go back to the drawing board and the first thing we will put in place when we get approval is that the cost of Transportation from Abuja to Kaduna will double because each coach takes 88 passengers but we will reduce it to 40 and the price will increase but we will need to talk to the president before we move on.
” The next thing is that every body must come with his own hand sanitizer, government won’t buy for you and it has to have minimum of 90% alcohol. Next thing is that you must come with your face mask without which you won’t enter, if you enter and bring it down, we will stop and you will come down even if it is in the bush. We will increase the presence of police for the enforcement of law and order in all the coaches and the implications is that when you enter the coach with your face mask and remove it, we will stop, you will come down or put back the mask and if you don’t, we will not move. Either other passengers force you to wear it or the police will force you, no matter how big you are,” emphasized Amaechi.
The Minister noted that people have to comply to PTF guidelines on Covid-19. as there is no big man about death, hence everyone must obey the rules.
“We are going to comply with the Covid committee and the committee says 3 metre distance that’s why we are reducing the number of passenger from 88 per coach to 40, not even 44 because you must give that 3 metre distance so that you don’t spread COVID-19.”
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