The Need To Revitalise The Moribund State Of The Eastern District Railway System
Many developed climes have well developed and efficient railway systems. In England, somebody living in Plymouth will be going to work everyday to faraway Middlesbrough with the help of their efficient railway system, hence decongesting the major cities. In Nigeria, the England experience is akin to a 'lagosian' going to work everyday in Anambra state,which is not feasible in Nigeria. The railway system seems to be one of the safest means of transportation .
UK has a railway system of 10,072 miles( 16,209 km) in Great Britain and 189 miles ( 304 km) in Northern Ireland .In Nigeria,the railway system is divided into eastern district,Northeast district,Northwest district etc .However ,even in the southwestern geopolitical region ,we have about two districts hence the eastern district remains the only district where two geopolitical regions (southeast and south south) are combined together.
In view of this ,the developments experienced in other railway districts in Nigeria are yet to reach the eastern district. Some districts have many engine cabins and different passenger coaches and baggage vans. Even the so-called first class coach in the eastern district is a glorified second class coach .In the eastern district railway system,the only difference between the first class and second class coaches is the air conditioning system in the former.
However, in other districts,like the one seen in the southwestern part of the country, there are different first class coaches available. We have the public first class,the sleeping first class and other first class coaches hence if a family wants to embark on an excursion ,they can pay for the sleeping first class coach where an apartment having a sitting room,toilet and bedroom will be given to them but in the eastern district there is nothing like that .The only first class coach available in the eastern district is the one where everybody in a particular coach,no matter the social status,uses the same toilet. What an injustice?
In order to capture a firsthand information ,On Tuesday 26th May 2015 ,just few days before the end of the last administration ,I decided to travel by train from the Port Harcourt end of the eastern railway district . Some days before the day,I surfed if I could get any of their contacts online so I could enquire about the travel schedules because all my flights booking is always online. Luckily through Vconnect ,I got a phone number ( 08038907639) linked to the Nigerian Railway corporation.
The person I spoke with helped me but could not give me all the information I needed because he was in the Enugu office of the Nigerian Railway corporation .I was directed to the Port Harcourt office but unfortunately there was no phone contact online through which I could contact them or any website I could visit to obtain the information I needed for my proposed journey . However,the person I spoke with on phone in the Enugu office advised me to be in the Port Harcourt office before 0700 hours on Tuesday if I intended travelling by the train.
Having been armed with this information, on that Tuesday morning,I embarked on a journey of about 30 minutes in order to catch up with the train in the Port Harcourt railway office . Few minutes into our journey,the same train I was travelling with stopped at the back of my house, where I later learnt was one of their railway substations, to pick some passengers .I was filled with indignation for wasting my time and fuel in driving down to the Port Harcourt office of the railway corporation in order to catch up with the train when I could equally do the same thing with ease at the back of my house.
Imagine what lack of information from the appropriate authorities caused me. In UK and other developed climes, one can get any information online hence helping to decongest the road and saving time for the citizens . Sequel to this,the authorities involved should design a website where all the substations used and the respective times the train is expected to reach each of the substations will be published . They should equally sensitise the people on the advantages of travelling by trains.
Meanwhile the location of the Port Harcourt office of the railway corporation is near 'Lagos' bus stop which is a little bit far for many residents leaving in Port Harcourt suburbs and I believe that was why our forefathers built the substations in different locations .
My further investigations showed that it was only one Engine cabin that is currently being used in the eastern district hence it will soon break down .Consider for an instance ,when the train leaves Port Harcourt at 0700 hours on Tuesdays ,it is meant to arrive Enugu about 1430 hours same day. It leaves Enugu for Makurdi immediately after picking and disembarking some passengers ,arriving Makurdi between 2200 and 2300 hours the same day.
The journey continues to Lafia ,where the train is meant to arrive Lafia between 0300 and 0400 hours the next day( Wednesday) and from there the train reaches Kafanchan between 1000 and 1100 hours on Wednesday. Within three to four hours of arriving Kafanchan ,the train is meant to start returning to Port Harcourt as it must leave Kafachan latest 1400 hours the same Wednesday in order to arrive Enugu on or before 0700 hours on Thursday.
It is expected to reach Port Harcourt between 1400 and 1500 hours on Thursday and on Friday morning the same train will leave Port Harcourt to Enugu. However,unlike on Tuesdays,the final destination of the train on Fridays from Port Harcourt is at Enugu regional office hence it does travel beyond Enugu on Fridays . As the train arrives Enugu on Fridays ,it will be made to be made to pass through maintenance services and by Monday at 0700 hours the same train is meant to proceed to Port Harcourt and the 'vicious' cycle continues .It has to be noted that this only one Engine cabin carrying the coaches and baggage vans in the eastern district will soon break down as it is always on the road from Mondays through Fridays. More engine cabins should be provided for the district .
Also,I observed thereafter that the railway tracks in the eastern region were not as smooth as those seen in other regions. The friction of movement can be felt while on the eastern end of the railway tracks but from Makurdi to Kafanchan ,there is little or no friction because the railway tracks there are well fixed and maintained . Who bears the blame here? At times,when it rains in some parts of the eastern district ,some railway tracks are over flooded hence train movements are delayed.
These anomalies should be corrected immediately and more engine cabins,passenger coaches and baggage vans be bought and sent down to the eastern district such that passengers here can experience what their counterparts are experiencing in other parts of the country. Different first class coaches should be sent down to the eastern district as it is currently being utilised in other districts.
One engine cabin should not be allowed to be on the road from Mondays through Fridays in a big district like eastern district where two geopolitical zones are combined together as it will definitely break down one day. The salaries and the working conditions of other railway workers should be improved if we truly desire any improvement in the efficiency of labour.
Dr Paul John
Port Harcourt,
Rivers state.
08083658038
[email protected]