Wednesday 13 June 2018
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BUSINESS DAY
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Local and global rail news as it breaks
NRC needs technology uptake to solve challenges …Inside story of idle N500 SURE-P STC project Stories by MIKE OCHONMA
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s successive governments in Nigeria embarks on a long journey to inject life and vibrancy into the hitherto decrepit rail system, there are mounting concerns that, the move must embrace some of the emerging developments from the global technology space. In some African countries like South Africa for instance where the rail system is more developed than Nigeria, although there has been some progress in establishing continuous connectivity in the form of WiFi networks on railway systems in South Africa, political issues have limited the uptake of technologies in the rail industry. In South Africa for instance, the rail system prioritising WiFi and other Internet of Things (IoT) technologies introducing. With this technology, it will be possible to monitor situations train operations live. This could improve overall service delivery and scheduling, which, in turn, will decrease delays and passenger frustration, and give rise to increasing numbers of people wanting to use rail as a means of transport. Progress in terms of technology within the rail sector for instance has been made in South Africa and other Sub-Sahara African countries apart from Nigeria. Some of these issues include alleged corruption and governance issues within rail parastatals. During the administration of former President Goodluck Jona-
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than when Seyi Sijuwade was the managing director of Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), efforts were made to modernise the communication equipment of the parastatals. Unfortunately, this lofty project worth N500 million is said to be stalled inside the NRC premises till the time of filing this report when political power changed hands form Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressive Congress since 2015. About five years ago, the NRC launched with it called Safe Train Control (STC) project that was designed to be technologically driven. The STC is a control centre located within the NRC headquarters in Ebute-Metta, Lagos where train movement across the country can be controlled and monitored as part of the modernization of the operations. The project, which started in 2013, was funded through the Subsidy Re-Investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) of the immediate past administration of
President Goodluck Jonathan. Under the SURE-P, created following the partial removal of fuel subsidy, government diverted its share of the re-investible funds into critical programmes among them railway modernization. The STC was part of the projects carried out under the Railway Project Implementation Unit of SUREP for which over N30 billion was released. The former NRC managing director had said on August 6, 2015, that, “Before now, we relied on GSM phones to communicate with our drivers. If there is any breakdown or accident or any other challenge, our drivers communicated with the engineers via phone. There’s no way we can monitor all our operations at a glance. This will stop with the deployment of this equipment,”. “Among other features, the equipment enables us to monitor and control train speed, to avoid derailment and collision, and also enhance fuel economy.
It promotes efficiency and ensures adherence to journey time by drivers; minimises damage to tracks and other infrastructure. It has the capacity to increase frequency of train movement, with consequent increase in revenue. The Joint National Assembly Committees on Land Transport during an oversight visit to the NRC On February 2016, inspected the Control Room with Fidet Okhiria, the current managing director, and Niyi Ali, director of operations, explaining the operation of the project to the lawmakers. NRC told visiting he committee members that, the project was stalled by lack of funding. Okhiria at the time said, “It is one of the projects being funded by SURE-P. A lot of equipment was shipped in for the project. They have installed the on-board computers connected with 17 locomotives but the completion and duration is driven by availability of funds. We have received 80 per cent of the equipment needed.”
UK rail fares come under spotlight in new talks …Following KPMG’s new research
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ritain’s rail companies are launching a public consultation to seek ‘root and branch reform’ of fares and ticketing regulation. The announcement follows new research by KPMG which shows that only one in three (34 percent) rail customers is very confident that they bought the best value ticket for their last journey and fewer than one in three (29 percent) were very satisfied with the experience of buying their ticket. Reform has the potential to transform the buying experience for customers, making it easier for people to be confident they are getting the right ticket. Well-intentioned but ultimately counterproductive regulations underpinning rail fares have remained unchanged from the mid-1990s, when the 1995 Ticketing Settlement Agreement spelled out how fares should be set and sold. It assumes all customers will buy their ticket by visiting a ticket office and sets out in detail how
NYCT to accelerate subway modernisation
customers must be able to buy a ticket from each of the 2,500 stations in Britain to every other station in the country. Since then, further layers of requirements have been added through individual franchise agreements, with little or nothing taken away. This means that long-standing “anomalies” are becoming locked in resulting in bigger problems for customers, and there are now around 55 million different fares.
As a result, it has become increasingly difficult for rail companies to guarantee the right fare. Regulations have failed to keep pace with the rise of smartphone technology or how people work and travel today, with part time working and self-employment having increased by over a third in 22 years. Updated, fit-for-purpose fares regulation would enable the right changes for the long-term. The consultation will help the indus-
try to establish a road map which delivers against these principles. The industry wants to then work with governments to make fares simpler, easier and more trusted while continuing to enable investment in the railway. To help frame the consultation, the Rail Delivery Group, which brings together all rail companies, has commissioned an independent report from KPMG to identify key principles which are driven by what customers and the country need from the railway. These principles should underpin fares offering that is fit for the future and include: being transparent, predictable, fair, trusted, easier to use and value for money for customers, offering integration with other modes of transport, enabling growth, innovation, efficiency and choice, providing funding for investment and avoiding the need for additional taxpayer subsidy and offering personalised, flexible fares which best serve customers in different markets.
ew York City Transit (NYCT) president Andy Byford has unveiled plans for the modernisation of the city’s bus and subway networks, bringing forward major improvements to signalling and stations. The Plan to Modernise NYCT focuses on four key priorities he identified in his first day in office transforming the subway, re-imagining the bus network, improving accessibility for all modes, and engaging more closely with the workforce to deliver better service. “What is needed is not mere tinkering, a few tweaks here and there,” Byford says. “What must happen is sustained investment on a massive scale if we are to deliver New Yorkers the service they deserve and the transit system this city and state need.” The plan envisages a three-
fold acceleration of the CBTC programme to deliver capacity benefits in a shorter timescale. In the first five years of the plan, CBTC will be rolled out on five lines, alongside modernised interlocking’s and power supply enhancements where required. This will benefit 3 million passengers a day on lines A, C, E, 4, 5, 6, F, M, R and G. More than 1200 subway cars will be equipped with CBTC in the first five years of the plan and 650 new vehicles will be added to the fleet. State-of-good-repair work will be carried out at more than 150 stations and accessibility will be improved at 50 stations, ensuring passengers are never more than two stops from an accessible station. Within 5-10 years, NYCT plans to extend CBTC to a further six lines serving around five million passengers a day on lines 1, 2, 3, B, D, F, M, C, N, R, Q and W. More than 3000 new subway cars will be delivered, and all rolling stock will be equipped with CBTC by the end of the 10-year plan period. NYCT plans to make 130 stations accessible in the second five year phase of investment with the balance of all possible stations being upgraded by 2034. In addition to rolling stock and infrastructure improvements, a new station management model will be introduced by the end of this year and a new fare payment system will be rolled out by 2020.