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Minister of Transportation, Senator Sa’idu Ahmed Alkali has disclosed that locomotives being used for train services in the country are being retrofitted to operate on both liquified natural gas (LNG) and diesel fuel.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the Minister of Transportation to have made the disclosure when he recently visited the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) workshop at Idu in the Abuja, where the locomotives are being retrofitted.
Senator Alkali said the Monday’s visit was to assess the progress made so far of retrofitting the locomotives to operate on both LNG and diesel fuel.
“During our examination, we engaged with the engineers involved in the project and observed that the process has reached an advanced stage. The engine is set to undergo a test run, marking a significant milestone as the first of its kind on the African Continent,” he said.
TNG gathered that the train engines when completely retrofitted will operate on a combination of 30% diesel and 70% Gas fuel. This means that upon startup, the engine will initially run on diesel before seamlessly transitioning to gas for the duration of the journey.
“The objective is to reduce maintenance costs by approximately 60 to 70 percent and regulate carbon emissions, as this presents one of the most straightforward methods for managing local air pollution.
“Upon completion, the trial will commence on the Abuja-Kaduna rail corridor due to the planned installation of the retrofitting workshop in Abuja, which is intended to facilitate the testing process starting in this June, 2024.
“Subsequently, this process can be replicated on other corridors throughout the nation,” Alkali said.