Nigerian Railway Corporation
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC ) is the national railway company in Nigeria.
- 3.1 Technical Details
History
The NRC was established in 1898 as a Government Department of Railways. It received its current name in 1955. The NRC went bankrupt several times over the past 20 years. Lack of maintenance of the infrastructure and rolling stock, as well as a high number of employees resulted in high losses that were not covered by the state. 2005 reduced the NRC after various reorganizations passenger service on four departures per week from Lagos and from Port Harcourt. Two of the four trains from two cities go to Kano, one each to Jos and Maiduguri. Between Lagos and IFAW a regional transport over a distance of 48 km is performed. This is performed to order the city of Lagos.
Mazi Jetson Mwakwo, director of the NRC in 2008, according to the railway system in Nigeria suffers from a lack of political support. While the NRC had 1954-1975 45,000 employees, it employed in 2008, a mere 6,516 people Mwakwo turned out that no new cars were purchased in 1993 and was isolated up to 60 years old rolling stock in service. The infrastructure allows speeds of up to 35 km / h
Stretch
Generally
All sections of the NRC are not electrified. Only 30 km of which are carried out twofold. These are all located in the metropolitan area of Lagos. The railways are usually built of rails with a meter weight of 29.8 kg and 34.7 kg or 39.7 kg. Basically, the network of NRC comprises 3505 km length. The Government is considering plans to convert the existing route network of Cape gauge to standard gauge.
Cape gauge
The Nigerian Railway Corporation operates a network of 3505 km distances in Cape gauge.
This network consists of the following lines:
- Agege Lagos - Ibadan - Ilorin IFAW - Minna- Kaduna - Zaria - Kano, 1126 km
- IFAW Ilaro, 20 km
- Minna- Baro, 155 km
- Zaria - Kaura Namoda, 245 km
- Kano - Nguru
- Kaduna Kafanchan - Kuru - Bauchi - Maiduguri, 885 km
- Kuru - Jos, 55 km
- Kafanchan - Makurdi - Enugu - Port Harcourt, 737 km
Some extensions of the Kapspurnetzes are planned. However, the route network was not renewed since 1980. Planned are currently (as of January 2012) the route of Gusau over Kaura Namoda to Sokoto (215 km ) from Kano to Katsina (175 km) and from Lagos to Asaba.
The route to Gusau is closed since the collapse of a bridge since 2002.
The power of the NRC has no connection to the railway network in neighboring countries.
Standard gauge
Inland, very slowly developed a standard gauge network. His main line is a 217 km long line of Oturkpo the Ajaokuta steel plant. An earlier standard gauge line of 51.5 km in length was operated between the Itakp mines and the steel plant in Ajaokuta. There are also plans for an expansion: from Ajaokuta to Abuja and from Ajaokuta to the harbor in Warri. Together, these would have a length of 500 km. Another proposed line runs from Port Harcourt to Makurdi over a length of 463 km.
In February 2011, the start of construction of the route Abuja - Kaduna was announced. Daily Trust, a high-circulation, especially in northern Nigeria daily newspaper, reported in early December, 2013, that currently 70 percent of the track work would be completed in three years since construction began. In December 2014, the transfer could take place. The total cost amounted to an altitude of 849 million U.S. dollars, according to a representative of the Chinese construction company China Civil Engineering Construction. For the 186 km long distance trains would be one to three quarters of an hour's drive need at a speed of 120 km / h to 150 km / h, while Thisday wrote on November 20, nor of speeds of 150 up to 180 km / hr.
Narrow-gauge
In addition, a line with 762 mm gauge between Zaria and Jos was operated with a length of 194 km in the past. This route, however, was shut down and dismantled.
Rolling stock
As vehicles the NRC has almost 200 diesel locomotives, however, of which up to 75 % are not in use. In addition, it has 54 shunting locomotives, 480 passenger cars and 4,900 freight cars. Less than 50 % of the cars are in effective condition.
For passengers, the passenger trains with sleeping cars, air-conditioned first - class carriage and non air-conditioned second - class cars are operated. The trains to and from Lagos cause even the dining car.
A renewal of the driver parks took place in 2010. The NRC acquired 25 new six-axle locomotives from General Electric C25.
Technical details
NRC is used as the so-called ABC - coupling clutch is derived from the Janney coupling. When braking system, the NRC uses a vacuum brake system, as it comes with other railway companies used worldwide.