The Kaduna-Kano Standard Gauge Railway is scheduled to be inaugurated on December 3, as the Federal Government pushes forward with major railway projects in Northern Nigeria, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council announced. The council said the 203-kilometre Kaduna-Zaria- Kano railway project had reached approximately 90 per cent completion, while the 400-kilometre Kano-Katsina-Maradi railway project had attained 70 per cent completion.
In a statement released on Sunday, Dele Alake, spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, said the projects were among the infrastructure initiatives being accelerated by President Bola Tinubu's administration. According to the statement, the Kano-Katsina-Maradi railway was barely five per cent complete when Mr Tinubu took office in 2023, while the Kaduna-Kano project was less than 30 per cent complete at that time.
The council said the Kaduna-Kano railway is an extension of the existing Abuja-Kaduna standard gauge line and would provide a continuous rail connection between Abuja, Kaduna, Zaria and Kano. It added that the railway would strengthen transportation links across major commercial centres in Northern Nigeria, improve passenger transportation and facilitate the movement of goods.
A Federal Government inspection team led by Funso Adebiyi, permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, recently inspected both projects on the president's directive. Mr Adebiyi reportedly expressed satisfaction with the quality of construction, particularly the railway alignment, drainage infrastructure, embankment protection, stone pitching and soil stabilisation. The inspection also included a train test-run from Jaji in Kaduna State to Kano to assess the completed track infrastructure and passenger comfort.
Mr Tinubu has also directed that outstanding land acquisition and compensation issues within Kaduna metropolis be resolved immediately to facilitate completion of the railway corridor from Abuja to Kano.
The statement said the completed 190-kilometre Jaji-Kano section of the Kaduna-Kano railway and the 250-kilometre Dawanu-Kano-Kazaure-Daura-Katsina section of the Kano-Maradi railway would be inaugurated on December 3. It said the Kaduna-Kano railway would provide an alternative to road transportation along one of Northern Nigeria's busiest commercial corridors when operational. The Kano-Katsina-Maradi railway, on the other hand, is expected to improve cross-border transportation and trade between Nigeria and neighbouring Niger Republic.
The council said the projects reflected the Tinubu administration's commitment to expanding railway infrastructure and delivering ongoing infrastructure projects across the country as scheduled.