Federal Government Plans Road-Rail Linkage to Cut Transport Costs

The Federal Government is moving to connect roads and rail lines to the country’s ports as part of a broader strategy to reduce transportation costs, boost productivity and support economic growth.

Vice President Kashim Shettima announced the plan yesterday in Abuja at the 19th National Council on Transportation, where he also unveiled the National Land Transport Policy (NLTP).

Represented by his Special Adviser on General Duties, Aliyu Umar, Shettima said the government is shifting attention from isolated infrastructure projects to interconnected transport corridors designed to ease the movement of people and goods.

He said the ongoing railway modernisation programme aims to restore national connectivity while linking production centres, markets and ports.

“Transportation is the link between economic potential, prosperity and the circulation system of production,” Shettima said.

“Rail must connect to roads; rail to production centres and markets, while roads provide first- and last-mile access. Ports must connect to rail and roads.”

The Vice President added that the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration is also advancing the Kaduna-Maradi railway project to deepen domestic connectivity, cross-border trade and regional integration.

He urged stakeholders to ensure approved transport projects move from planning to implementation, stressing that effective integration requires regulation, technology and institutional cooperation.

Former Transportation Minister Said Alkali described the new policy as the first comprehensive framework of its kind for the transport sector since Nigeria’s independence.

Alkali noted that the absence of a comprehensive land transport policy had made it difficult for the ministry to regulate the sector effectively. He said the policy aligns with the administration’s eight-point priority agenda and provides a framework for developing a fast, safe, efficient, affordable, convenient, integrated and intermodal transport system.