Efficiency of Railway Transport as a Sustainable Mode of Transport in Nigeria: A Study of Rail Mass Transit in Lagos and its Environs.

This paper compacts with the notion of the relevance of railway transportation in the Nigerian economy. Assessments, Issues, challenges and operational rail-line in Nigeria. Specifically, the impact of railway in Lagos (Rail Mass Transit) The study also highlighted factors that may affect or retard the relevance of railway transportation in the Nigerian economy and solutions propounded. The paper presenter researched for the paper with reliance on textbooks, internet websites and operational case study since there is a dearth of material in the subject area most especially data from the pre-colonial period in Nigeria railway operations. Also, the researcher relied on secondary data from Nigerian Railway cooperation for his SPSS analysis. At the end of the paper, the presenter proposed a number of recommendations for efficient operations of railway service in Nigeria. Significant among is government improvement of infrastructure and enabling environment as well as privatization or commercialization of railway operation as the government does not have the political will and motivation to invest in a capital intensive project like a railway.

105 rail lines: the Western line which associates Lagos on the Bight of Benin to Nguru in the northern territory of Yobe, over a separation of 1,126 kilometers (700 mi) and the Eastern line which interfaces Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta to Maiduguri in the northeastern province of Borno, close to the border with Chad ( Everipedia, 2019).
The nation has two significant Cape-guage rail lines: • The Western Line associates Lagos on the Bight of Benin to Nguru in the northern territory of Yobe, over a separation of 1,126 kilometers (700 mi).

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The Eastern Line associates Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta to Maiduguri in the northeastern territory of Borno, close to the fringe with Chad.
There are likewise a few branch lines: The Linking Line associates Kaduna on the Western Line to Kafanchan on the Eastern Line. The eastern line from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri was restored at a cost of US$427 million by Lingo Nigeria, Eser West Africa, and the China Gezhouba Group. In order to remedy the poor condition, efficiency, and profitability of the nation's railroads, the government is also seeking to privatize the Nigerian Railway Corporation.
The Lagos Government Railway began operations in March 1901 and was extended to Minna in 1911, where it met the Baro-Kano Railway that was built by the government of Northern Nigeria between 1907 and 1911. The two lines were amalgamated in 1912 into the Government Department of Railways, the predecessor to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (Carland J, 1985).
The 187 km line is the first segment of the planned Lagos-Kano Standard Gauge Railway to be completed. The Warri-Itakpe standard gauge line connects the port city of Warri to Itakpe (BBC News, published 7th of December, 2017).
A standard gauge railway connects the national capital of Abuja to the city of Kaduna, an important junction point on the Cape gauge railway network (BBC News, published 7th of December, 2017).
The 320 km line began test runs in November 2018, but the stations will not be completed until the first quarter of 2019.The construction of railways in Nigeria started from Map 2: Railway Routes across Nigeria with Single, standard and Narrow gauge railway 2   1970 and 2010 (190,389,765) and ever since then the passenger keep on declining with a humiliating figure like we had in 2009 with 1,285,080 passengers and 40,624 tonnes cargo. Aims and Objective of Railway in Nigeria:

A. Transportation or mobility:
Transportation is an act of moving people, goods and services from point of origin to point of destination safely. Thus the railway (trains) contributes to part of this logistics. It helps reducing the overuse of the road, air and marine transport, thereby reducing the wear and tear of infrastructure in other transport sector in Nigeria.

B. Creates Employment:
A vibrant railway sector creates employment (jobs) to core professionals who are unemployed and are seeking so eagerly for jobs. Below are some of the employment opportunities the railway sector could absorb.

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Engineering/Mechanical Engineers • Accountants • Marketers (help in the sale of tickets) • Security • Pilots, etc.

C. Generates Revenue:
The railway sector is one that, if it's been efficiently manage by core professionals who give in their best for the growth of the railway, in the long run it could serve as a source that generates revenue on a daily basis.

D.
Resources Congestion: In a city like Lagos with an estimated population of twelve million. Ninety five percent of the populace makes use of road transportation, which consist of cars, motorcycle, buses, lorries etc. Due to the high number of road, it thereby causes congestion and brings about delay of goods, people and services not getting to their destination on time.
With the steady introduction of railway, it will help to reduce congestion and reduce delay. Since there is no congestion on rails

Conceptual Framework:
Efficient railway transportation helps ensure both population mobility and a functioning supply chain.Most times,railway reliability is often threatened by: Poor coordination and control of government transport parastatals • Lack of transport policy.
It should be noted that Lagos state has grown from a small fishing settlement to a Megapolis accommodating over twelve million people. The huge population requires mobility by various transportation means most especially the railway system.
Many of the observed inadequacies in the transportation system in Lagos shoot from sector management weakness (Lamata, 2017). This is as a result of lack of transport policy. The rail service is controlled by the Nigerian Railway Cooperation (NRC) which currently operates a limited commuter service between Agbado (Lagos north) and Iddo (Lagos south).
The railway here in Lagos constitutes an under-utilized assets. Thus, it carries less than 1% of the overall traffic in Lagos, but it still has a very good potential to play and greater roles in the movement of people, goods and services.
Understanding of institutional arrangement should contribute through assessing the interaction of legislation and regulations, administrative, economic and financial arrangements; political structures and processes; and historical and traditional customs and values. Greater understanding of the way in which these variables interact on rail transport and its traffic management, which helps in forecasting about the future. Sustainability tendencies of the railway transport system in Lagos rest on the capacity to manage the traffic and railway transport sector for an improved, efficient and enhanced public transport network.

Railway Institutional Failure in Lagos:
Evidences have shown that there is no clear definition of responsibilities among the three tiers of government in making sure that the railway system in Lagos thrives. This condition has steered into institutional conflicts in numerous areas, especially in the enforcement, infrastructure provision and use, policy formulation and coordination. Oni, S.I; Okanlawon, K. (2006). Deficiency of long-term strategic planning, poor regulation and enforcementthe land use control and regulatory instruments are ineffective (Oni, 1999).
The poor rail network reflects the political institution shortfalls of commitment, money and skills, many agencies are involved in providing rails, but few in maintenance; legal responsibilities are not clear and there are shortages of core competence professionals in the railway transport.
In cities with numerous local governments such as Lagos metropolis, in a situation like this, the creation of a single authority named Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) is a welcome idea according to Oni, S.I., Okanlawon, K. R. & Asenime, C.O. (2006). This body brings an effective unification and coordination, coordination and implementation of transport policies which will bring a long term institutional reform objective.
Other problems affecting railway transport in Lagos include:

a)
Unplanned Urbanization

Challenges of Railway Sector in Lagos State:
Rails development work began in Lagos with the single-track arrangement of 1067 mm (3'6") measurement (NRC, 2007). The Nigeria Railway Corporation, particularly the Lagos metropolis railway districts, has throughout the years been experiencing some troublesome occasions. A portion of its difficulties in Lagos metropolis entails poor government financing, old narrow gauge tracks, poor gradient poor communication and signaling equipment, poor road access, lack of parts for maintenance and incapacitated engines. In spite of these difficulties, the corporation has figured out how to give skeletal intra-city transport benefits in Lagos State (Eugene, 2007).
Lagos is a city which has a huge deluge of individuals dwelling in the city and transacting business among themselves. Along these lines, there is a requirement for efficient and effective railway vehicle system that would convey people, goods and services within Lagos.
But the railway sector is being neglected which has made it inefficient. These are some of the reasons that are responsible for its failure; a.
Insufficient funds b.
Planning not in place c.
No proper organization d.
Poor staffing

Insufficient Funds:
Proper and adequate funding of the railway sector has been the brain behind the derail of the railway sector. Without funds (money) proper maintenance of infrastructures in the railway in Lagos can't be achieved, employees can't be paid well etc. Thus, for the sector to grow, funds (capital) should be sufficient to run the railway sector in Lagos.

Planning not in place:
The railway sector in Lagos lacks proper planning, focuses on desired goals that need an accomplishment in a given time frame. The vision to move the railway sector in Lagos to be among the best in the world is not there. Thus, for proper growth in the sector.There should be a vision in order to achieve their planned, desired goal.

No proper organization:
When there is no proper organization, there would be difficulty in integrating human, physical and material resources.
Moreover, most departments in the railway sector in Lagos are being run by the wrong personnel. Since this is a lack of professionals handling those departments, there would definitely been rigidity in its services

Poor staffing:
Since employees (individuals) are an integral factor in the development of the railway sector in Lagos. They should be given the basic requirement needed to carry out their duties dedicatedly.
Moreover, most departments in the railway sector in Lagos are being run by the wrong personnel. Since they are not core professionals handling those departments, there would definitely been rigidity in its services.

Pie-chart 1 Percentage of passenger train performance between 2016 and 2017 9
72% Passenger patronage is from Lagos to its suburb.it is save to say that 72% operational efficiency is from Lagos alone while other rail locations shared the remaining 28%.
Aba to Port Harcourt Train Service had 9% patronage and efficiency followed by Kaduna(Rigasa) to Abuja (Idu) Train Service.
In the same vein,Cargo within the period of coverage are almost evenly distributed among all functional rail line in Nigeria with Kano to Nguru Train Service having 34% and 22% for Iddo(Lagos) to Kano Train Service 4.
Aba to Port Harcourt Train Service had been consistence for both passenger and cargo with 12%onlike Lagos that is super active on passenger alone and 4% cargo.
It is worthy of note that our rail line to the northern part of Nigeria are active for Cargo even if passenger patronage never existed is those places, for example Ufa for Kano Train

Solutions for a successful institutional arrangement in making the railway transportation more relevant in Nigeria economy:
An urban rail transport policy should be instituted which has the features of guided participation of the government, thereby including private institutions and non-governmental organizations should be clearly defined.
The government should continue to provide funds for rail transport infrastructure majorly in urban areas, construction of routes and also a better traffic management scheme.
The agency which would be constituted should be concerned with the following functions: • Proper urban rail transport planning, Additional incentives should be given to hardworking railway staffs for motivation Organizational structure for public transport management: In organizing the rail transport system, the government must recognize their relationship with other institutional bodies which interact to make the whole public transport sector conducive for operation. This means the isolation of other rail transport operators should not exist.
The governments must complement the effort of private operators and not compete with them. The potentials of these private operators must be assessed and fixed in areas where they are best suitable. There must be a reflection on the historical, social and cultural background.

The desire of the administration, private:
In organizing the rail transport system, the government must recognize their relationship with other institutional bodies which interact to make the whole public transport sector condusive for operation. This means isolation of other rail transport operators should not exist.
The governments must complement the effort of private operators and not compete with them. The potentials of these private operators must be assessed and fixed in areas where they are best suitable. There must be a reflection on the historical, social and cultural background.
The desires for the administration, private sector and non-governmental organizations in the transportation sector require an authoritative body to explain these sources of information with the end goal that there would be a general productivity of the activity of railway transport framework in Lagos state as indicated by one, Okanlawon and Asenime, 2006. This authority is proposed as an administrative body to articulate these units for the effective unification and coordination of transport policies, programmes and actions in the area as noted by one, Okanlawon & Asenime, 2006. The principal duty of The principal duty of the authority is to coordinate the transport investment plan and programmes It should also be noted the economic relevance of railway transportation is a philosophical approach on a combination of diverse components with each forming individually to enhance and complement its operations so as to achieve its desired goal.
The elements of transport which include

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The way which is rail track.

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The terminal • The vehicle which is the train • The motive power which could be either diesel, electric, magnetic levitation solar, gas turbines etc.
All these and many factors effectively combined to ensure that an efficient rail transport system is indispensable to the economic, social and environmental sanity of a nation.
The null hypothesis (Railway operation in Lagos is efficient) were generally assumed to be true until evidence indicates otherwise. In this case, the null hypothesis is accepted and an alternative hypothesis is rejected in its place.
We could conclude that the CHI square test carried out on data was not significant at 0.008 level (2-tailed p.>0.0005) of significance. (X2=24, df=110). P-value> 0.05; indicates weak evidence against the null hypothesis (The P-value is not significant, indicating that there is no association between the variables) so we conclude that there is no significance difference between railway transport and operational efficiency in Lagos.
Although, the Lagos commuter standard is 72% better than other rail line across Nigeria but the total operational standard is far from Global standard with developing and lessdeveloping economies, considering Nigeria population and poor road network for vehicular movement which often caused traffic congestion on Nigerian road.
In summary, Railway line for passenger transport in Lagos is operationally effective, considering the number of voyage and/or trip and commuter's patronage.  The awakening of the railways in Lagos will not be progressive until the managements weakness, corruption, nepotism and institutional decadence which has flawed the railway system for more than fifty year are being corrected.
There is an urgent necessity to address this situation by establishing a functional, efficient, and a viable railway in Lagos.
The only solution is to transfer the management and operations of the railway system to the private sector. The idea of a concession should be considered by the government. This will help in bringing the railway sector in Lagos to its rightful place by possessing the following:

Conclusion:
The present state of the railway in Lagos state is very low in development; therefore there is an urgent need to engage professionals to assist in achieving a functional, responsive and sustainable transport by rail.
An agency should be instituted which must be allowed to take care of rail traffic management. The government in collaboration with the private sector should endeavor to develop a metro system for an improved service, thereby creating a need for a rail transport development plan and forum whereby all stakeholders are brought to formulate a working and an effective transport policy for Lagos (Oni, Okanlawon & Asenime, 2006).
Thus, the policies and programmes of the board may be executed through the authority of any of the agencies represented. The managing director of such an authority is to liaise with all agencies connected to rail transport such that the recommendations made to the board take account of the proposed transport plans and programmes of these agencies (Oni, Okanlawon & Asenime, 2006).
Also, users need to be enlightened, more about laws and regulations in order to gain their acceptance and compliance. The strong interrelationship that exists between enforcement, the driving environment and education on how to use the rail facilities in Lagos should be reflected on the agencies represented. The managing director of such an authority is to liaise with all agencies connected to rail transport such that the recommendations made to the board take account of the proposed transport plans and programmes of these agencies. Oni, Okanlawon & Asenime, 2006).
If this case study of the present railway system in Lagos state, is properly studied, there is no iota of doubt that in a few years when the ideas are being implemented, the railway transport system would be among the best in the world, because the railway is an essential mode of transport, which has really helped in transforming economies and cities such that Lagos should have.

Recommendations:
I strongly recommend efficient Private Firms to Manage Railway in Nigeria and specifically in Lagos.Railway privatization will reduce rail subsidies/government budget allocation, lower end user fares, improved service and improved customer service, and will encourage more investments.