The Nigerian Railway Corporation has installed a modern signal system that will enable it monitor and control train operations from its Lagos head office, while enhancing the company’s operational efficiency and improve safety on the trains.

The corporation, in a statement, said the new system, the Safe Train Control, covers the entire narrow-gauge rail network of the NRC; the onboard computers on locomotives is for monitoring and controlling the train movement; while the End-of-Train device is to monitor trains’ integrity, a satellite component to link the train to a central operations control centre.

“The derailment detectors are to minimise damage to track and track-side infrastructure, electronic fence to prevent trains from having any collision. The STC project is being implemented by a consortium of Ansaldo, Gear Group South Africa and A3 and O Limited,” it stated.

The Managing Director of the NRC, Mr. Adeseyi Sijuwade, who spoke at the NRC Ebute Metta head office in Lagos during the launch of the new equipment, said that an onboard computer would be installed in each locomotive and Diesel Multiple Unit for monitoring.

According to him, before the purchase of the new equipment, the corporation relied solely on mobile telephones for communication in the head office and on trains all over the country.

But with the installation of this safe train control system, through the satellite link and with the onboard computers installed in the locomotives from the Operation Control Centre, it is now possible to not only communicate with the train drivers, but to also monitor the speed of train movement.

He said that the system would ensure safety, stressing that with the system, it would be almost impossible to have train collision.