Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has stated that the narrow gauge railway line, is not in anyway inferior to the standard gauge as being rumored.
The Minister, who made this known while reacting to criticisms trailing the flag off of the Port Harcourt to Maiduguri narrow gauge to be constructed by the Federal Government, said the difference was only in the area of speed.
He said both the the narrow and standard gauge would be constructed by the government, starting with the narrow gauge
“The narrow gauge is cheaper at $3.2billion against the $11 to 14billion to construct the standard gauge. Why we did not get the approval for the narrow gauge on time was because the President insisted on the standard gauge from Port Harcourt-Maiduguri. My argument was if I can achieve the same length of rail with $3.2 billion dollars, why not take that first until we get money for the standard gauge?” he said.
“The standard gauge line is between $11-14billion to construct on the Eastern flag. The standard gauge as designed in Nigeria is 150km design speed, operational speed is 120km. What is the difference between 120km and 100km? The narrow gauge is about $3.2billion dollars at 100km per hour,” he added.
