CRRC Urged To Hasten Nigeria’s Locomotive Construction

Oru Leonard

The Chinese Railway Rolling stock Corporation(CRRC) Qishuyan in charge of construction of locomotives for Nigeria, has been urged to hasten up work.

The Minister gave the directive on Sunday in Qishuyan when he led a Nigerian delegation on an inspection tour of the company.

According to him, Nigeria needs these locomotives as work will be completed on the Lagos-Ibadan railway line by the end of May and first week in June.

“Make it faster to construct these locomotives because we need them now. By end of May and first week in June, CCECC would have completed work on the tracks.

“What this visit has shown is that there is neither locomotives nor coaches that are ready. So if you speed up the process, we will be grateful”, he said.

For his part, the Managing Director, Nigerian Railway Corporation, Freeborn Okhiria said that the designs for the locomotives have been completed and CRRC has started making the components.

In his words, “We are expecting four motorcade for the Diesel Multiple Units(DMUs), eight Locomotives for passengers and seven locomotives for frieght. Eight coaches with two motorcade is a set while the passenger coaches are independent.

“The Engines we are expecting are going to be more modern and encased so that the technicians can work whether rain or sunshine”, Okhiria remarked.

Earlier in his welcome speech, the General Manager, CRRC Qishuyan Co., LTD, Xu Shibao, noted that they will do their best for the training and after- sales service in Nigeria, adding that the Company will further contribute to the development of the railway in Nigeria.