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Plans are underway by the Federal Government to consider a reduction of 60 per cent savings in diesel costs aimed at retrofitting of train locomotives to operate on a dual-fuel system.
This was contained in a statement by the Minister of Transportation, Saidu Alkali.
He expressed his satisfaction with the test run of the train locomotive.
According to him, “This feat is a step towards reducing the cost of transportation and making the cost of train rides affordable to the general public.”
The Minister led the demonstration of the locomotive's capabilities along the Abuja-Kaduna rail at the Amina J. Mohammed Train Station (Idu Train Station) in Abuja.
The newly retrofitted locomotives, which run on a 70-cent Liquefied Natural Gas and 30 per cent diesel mix, were test-run by the Federal Ministry of Transportation, marking a significant step in reducing operational expenses and promoting cleaner energy in Nigeria’s rail transport system.
Alkali said before the upgrading process, the locomotive ran entirely on diesel.
He explained that the upgrade would pave way to operate primarily on LNG, with diesel making up just 30 per cent of its fuel consumption.
H, however, acknowledged that a 100 per cent LNG conversion was not technically feasible due to the locomotive’s heavy-duty engine, which was originally designed to run on diesel.
“It is not possible technically to convert it to CNG or LNG 100 per cent,” Alkali stated.
Managing Director of De-Sadel Consortium, Samuel Uko, lauded the feat, noting that this was the first locomotive in Africa to operate
