"Since it (the Lagos - Kano rail line) reopened in December, the twice-weekly route linking the country’s two largest cities has been nearly fully booked, with passengers attracted by the low prices — at $12, a second-class ticket is less than half the cost of the cheapest bus fare — and the relative comforts and safety of long-distance rail travel."
"The resumption of the service is the first achievement of a multibillion-dollar effort to revive Nigeria’s railways, whose decline had come to symbolize the rot in the country’s infrastructure. With Chinese contractors leading the way, the colonial-era network is being rehabilitated and new lines built."
"Yet in an age of high-speed rail, where travel at more than 124 mph is normal, the train to Kano chugs along at 31 mph. That this is celebrated as progress in Nigeria illustrates not only the state of the railways but also the difficulty of effecting real reform in the opaque, state-run sectors of the economy."
"Northern Nigeria, home to half the population and a struggling economy, would especially benefit, because items including petrol and food come by road from the southern ports. The region’s produce, such as skins and hides for export, goes back the same way in containers."
"Bashir Borodo, a Kano businessman and former president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, said the resumption of rail freight had already had a “dramatic” effect. “Rates for moving commercial goods on the train are much cheaper than by road,” he said. “It’s a saving grace for the northern economy.” "
(Narrating a woman's experience) "During her trip, the sweltering second-class carriage was packed with families, with some forced to sit in the aisle. With no running water on the train, the toilet facilities were soon a mess. Farther back, passengers in the air-conditioned first-class section, which included four policemen to guard the train, watched a Nigerian film."
"By late afternoon, workers in the restaurant car were stirring semolina fufu in a large pot. Music flowed from the bar, where Emmanuel Okewu, a 21-year-old shoemaker, had a Turbo King beer in one hand and a bottle of gin in the other."
The Washington Post also shared the article.
0 comments:
Post a Comment