The federal government has concluded plans to implement far-reaching, all-round security strategies that will ensure the safety of passengers, personnel and assets along the Abuja-Kaduna rail corridor and other rail corridors in the country, Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, has said.
Speaking to members of the Nigerian Union of Railway Workers in Abuja, the Minister said part of the strategies to be adopted is a 24/7 online real-time monitoring of the Abuja-Kaduna rail corridor.
He said a command centre will be set up for the Abuja-Kaduna rail corridor to monitor the movement of the train while a monitoring device will be installed in the train which will enable the train captain to view the rail tracks up to 2 km ahead.
Sambo said strategies have also been put in place to ensure adequate screening and identification of passengers on board the train.
The Minister said the measures became necessary to prevent certain categories of passengers from gaining unhindered entry into the train.
In this regard, the minister stated that “to buy a ticket, a passenger would be required to present his National Identification Number (NIN). After ticket purchase, before gaining entrance to the lounge, the passenger would be required to place his ticket on a validator which would display information about the passenger, including his picture. The passenger would only be allowed to board the train after necessary validation and authentication.”
He said, “There is going to be armed uniform and plain clothes security operatives onboard the train. Trained police personnel would also be stationed at all the stations along the Abuja-Kaduna corridor. A response team would also be put in place, some of whom would be on motorbikes and some in land rovers.”
While noting that the current security in the country will soon be surmounted, the minister expressed optimism that the proposed security plan will be approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in the coming week.
