Vice-President Namadi Sambo will today in Makurdi, inaugurate five ultra modern 68-seater passenger coaches, delivered to the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) by a Chinese firm.
The NRC’s Assistant Director of Public Relations, Mr. Akinwoye Abdulrauf, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Makurdi that the inauguration would also signal the beginning of operations of the Makurdi/Port Harcourt intercity passenger service.
He assured transporters that the corporation was committed to the provision of high tech rail services in the country.
The vice-president will also commission the newly-acquired two 16-seater air-conditioned rail buses and 18 five-seater motorised trolleys.
Abdulraouf assured that the facilities would be properly serviced and maintained to ease transportation problems in the country.
He said the delivery of the coaches was accompanied by relevant spare parts to avoid intermittent service failure.
He said the Nigerian technical crew, charged with the maintenance of the facilities, was adequately trained to ensure continued service delivery.
Abdulrauf appealed to the residents to assist the NRC in protecting rail tracks from damage.
He said the trains were fitted with special features such as advanced vacuum systems similar to airplanes.
He said the latest addition had increased the coaches under the fleet of the NRC to 11, while six which had been commissioned earlier, were deployed to the Western Line.
