Rotimi Amaechi Signs MoU on Rail Modernisation in Sochi Russia - Photos

The Honourable Minister of Transportation Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi on behalf of the federal government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), with Russian for the modernisation, development of railway infrastructure, rehabilitation of existing Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) rolling stock-fleet and upgrading of workshops across the country.

The MoU involves two Russian firms: Russian Joint Stock Company Russian Railway (JSCRR) and Transmash Holding, a private rolling stock manufacturing company.

Signing the agreement with CEO-Chairman, Joint Stock Company Russian Railway, Oleg Belozerov and the CEO Transmash holding, Mr Kirill Lipa during the Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi, Amaechi said this would boost and Fastrack the construction of the rail manufacturing company in Nigeria.

You will recall that the Nigerian government, gave the Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) the nod to establish a rail manufacturing plant in the country.

The Minister reiterated that the present administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari was determined to ensure the development of standard rail infrastructure in line with best practices.

He also noted that before the end of December, Nigeria will receive 20 locomotives and wagons which will be used for the Railway service on Lagos-Ibadan, Abuja-Kaduna and Itakpe-Warri rail line.

See more photos of the signing below...

See The New Trains That Will Be Used For Lagos-Ibadan Railway And Their Specification

Nigeria's minister for transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi was in China where he inspected some locomotive trains that are due for delivery to Nigeria soon. The trains will be used for the Abuja-Kaduna and Lagos-Ibadan rail lines. CRRC is the company responsible for the building, assembling and construction of the locomotive train, they decided to invite the minister to their factor in Qishuyan for a test run of the trains. CRRC Qishuyan dispatched the first batch of 10 locomotives and DMUs, these trains are due to arrive in Nigeria anytime soon.

Part of the trains that are due to arrive in Nigeria is the NDJ3(N) and DF11G(N) passenger locomotives, this is the first batch, the second batch will be unveiled soon. Remember we did a report on this, you can read it here.

According to reports, the contract was awarded to CRRC Qishuyan to supply 4 NDJ3(N) DMUs, 6 DF11G(N) passenger locomotives, 9 DF8B(N) freight locomotives and 2 DF7G(N) shunting locomotives for the Lagos - Ibadan Railway and Abuja - Kaduna Railway. The first batch of 10 locomotives will be dispatched by the end of October 2019.

AutoReportNG did a review of the trains and specs of these trains and this might interest you...

DF11G Quasi-high Speed Passenger Diesel Locomotive

DF11G double-heading quasi-high speed passenger diesel locomotive is specially developed for grand speedup of the railway. Currently, it is the main diesel locomotive run on China railway. It is equipped with the 16V280ZJA main diesel engine for traction, LonWorks network control is utilized, the speed monitoring system is set up for running safety and dynamic brake device is incorporated with full-power self-load function. Auxiliary diesel generator set with power supply functions for passenger cars is also equipped.

The double-heading locomotive is of enough power reserve, the superior performance of starting and accelerating, guaranteed reliability of key components, which is suitable for long routing.

Basic locomotive parameters:

Purpose
Passenger transport

Rail gage
1435mm

Transmission mode
AC-DC transmission

Axle arrangement
2（Co-Co）

Axle load
23t

Max. Service Power of the engine
2x 3610kW

Max. Operating Speed
170km/h

Constant speed
83.5 km/h

Maximum starting tractive effort
2x 193kN

Continuous tractive effort
2 x 125kN

Minimum curvature radius negotiated
145m

The capacity of the fuel tank
2x 7500L

Locomotive length
2x 22200mm

NDJ3 Quasi-high Speed DMU

NDJ3 “Harmony and the Great Wall” DMU is developed under the transportation demand of Beijing Olympic Games, which commutes between Beijingbei and Yanqing. This DMU is a “2 motor-cars and 7 trailing cars” unit with one motor-car at each end and seven trailing passenger cars fixed in between. The locomotive is equipped with 12V280ZJ diesel engine. The maximum running speed is 160km/h.

Based on mature technologies, long-term operation and inspection results that got from medium and large overhaul, the performance and reliability of main components such as diesel engine, bogie frame, car body, traction motor used for NDJ3 DMU have been well verified. It is well suited for a long steep grade.

Since NDJ3 DMU was formally put into operation in 2008, this train set has been running safely and reliably for 8 years and was well recognized by customers, It was awarded the first Prize of Scientific & Technological Progress of China Railway Society in 2009.

Basic parameters of diesel motor-car:

Purpose
Passenger transport

Rail gage
1435mm

Transmission mode
AC-DC transmission

Axle arrangement
A1A-A1A

Axle load
21t

Max. Service Power of the engine
2760kW

Max. Operating Speed
160km/h

Constant speed
59.3km/h

Maximum starting tractive effort
187.3kN

Continuous tractive effort
121kN

Minimum curvature radius negotiated
145m

The capacity of the fuel tank
5500L

Locomotive length
20990mm

These are pictures from the inspection and test driving which held at CRRC factory in China.

Lagos-Ibadan Railway to Commence Operations by December - Ameachi

The place of efficient transportation system as a key driver of the tourism industry is incontestable. As a means of diversifying the economy and empowering a great number of citizens, the inadequacy or inefficiency of transportation has often been found to hamper the exponential capacities of the tourism sector.

It was thus a cheering news for tourism practitioners and other Nigerians alike, when President Muhammadu Buhari led government, rolled out plans to revolutionize Nigeria’s Railways system, as an alternative means to road transportation.

In a recent visit to inspect the Lagos-Ibadan railway corridor, the Hon. Min. of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Ameachi, bemoaned the slow pace of work by the contractors – CCECC. Surely, this is how strategically important this transport infrastructure is to the economic recovery and growth programmes of President Buhari’s government. Whilst expressing his desire for early completion of the project, the Hon. Min. urged the contractors to speed up work on the project to enable Nigerians enjoy the modernized rail system, at the earliest.

When he was informed about the challenges faced by the contractors in the course of the project, the Minister directed all relevant Agencies and corporate bodies to resolve these challenges, urgently. Further, he reiterated that the Presidency is poised towards delivering the dividends of democracy to the citizens, through numerous laudable developmental projects.

See photos of the inspection done recently...

Lagos-Ibadan Railway: Update From Various Sites As CCECC Begins Test Run

As we begin the countdown to the final unveiling of the much-awaited Lagos-Ibadan Railway that is if we are to believe the ministry of transportation that it will be ready before September, we felt we need to visit the site where the CCECC is working to see things for ourselves.

AutoReportNG got some new and exclusive images from the official page of the CCECC crew which we are part of, and we felt the need to share these pictures with Nigerians to see how they fare from various locations.

There seems to be a massive construction at Ebute-Metta at the Railway Compound; also the CCECC crew are putting the finishing touches to the Ibadan axis while the Abeokuta, Agege, Papalanto are undergoing a test run according to our sources. As much as this sounds good, Nigerians are hoping that CCECC and the Federal Government will live to their words this time and complete this project once and for all. It will be recalled that the FG and CCECC have postponed the commissioning of this project 3 times in this year alone. At first, the former minister of transportation, Mr. Rotimi Ameachi promised that it will be completed by December 2018 and then April 2019 and now we have a new date.

These are some of the pictures from the site, all for your views alone...