Abuja Rail Mass Transit (commonly known as Abuja Light Rail) is a

regional rail Regional rail is a public transport, public rail transport service that operates between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops than inter-city rail, and unlike commuter rail, operate beyond the limits of urban areas, connectin ...

transport system in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. It was the first

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

system in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

and the second such system in sub-saharan Africa (after Addis Ababa Light Rail). The first phase of the project connects the city center to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, stopping at the Abuja-Kaduna Railway station in Idu. The Abuja Metro Line was launched on 12 July 2018 and a three-trains-per-day service opened for passengers the following week. Passenger services on the line were suspended in early 2020 due to the

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and was reopened May 29, 2024, with four trips per day on both lines, and all the stations on both lines fully operational.

History

A regional rail system serving Abuja had begun planning in 1997 but was delayed due to funding issues. CCECC Nigeria was awarded a contract for the construction of the first two phases, known as Lots 1 and 3, in May 2007. The first phase has two lines and 12 stations opened in July 2018, connecting Abuja city centre with the international airport via the Lagos–Kano Standard Gauge Railway at Idu. The projected cost of the entire proposed network, to be developed in six phases, was US$824 million, constructed by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), with 60% of the cost funded by loans from the

Exim Bank of China Exim is a mail transfer agent (MTA) used on Unix-like operating systems. Exim is a free software distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License, and it aims to be a general and flexible mailer with extensive facilities for checkin ...

. In fact, $840 million was spent on Lot 1 and 3, while $500 million was financed by a 2.5% p.a. loan from an Exim Bank of China. Repayment of the loan commenced in March 2020. In early 2020, passenger service on the line was suspended due to the

, and had not resumed. The service has restarted in may 2024. While inspecting the project in January 2024, FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, expressed concerns regarding the 'design quality' of the project:

From what I have seen, the designs are very poor. Whoever may have approved the designs is unfair to Nigerians. I’ve told CCECC that this kind of design is not even acceptable in their own country and if I had known before now, I would not have promised Mr. President that it would be ready. The conceptualisation is not the best, but again what do you do? This is what is on the ground. We have to see how we can finish it on time.

In April 2024, Wike announced that the project was 97% complete, and was set to be re-launched in May. The minister later added that passengers of the metro will not be charged during its first two months of operation. During the official re-launch of the project, the President of Nigeria,

Bola Tinubu Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu (born 29 March 1952) is a Nigerian politician serving as the 16th and current president of Nigeria since 2023. He previously served as the governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, and senator for Lagos ...

, extended the period for free travel until the end of 2024.

Operations

Upon opening in 2018, only the section between Abuja Metro Station and the Airport was operational, with an intermediate station at Idu. The remaining nine stations were originally scheduled to begin operations in 2020. The

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used for this line initially consisted of only three diesel rail coaches. A further three were scheduled to be delivered in mid-2020. From the opening, the rail line operated on a significantly reduced timetable in comparison to other worldwide light rail systems; with three daily departures from Idu to Abuja Metro Station, with two running the full length to the airport, on weekdays only. The delivery of further rolling stock was anticipated to provide services every thirty minutes.

Network

The first part of the network was commissioned on July 12, 2018, and three stations opened in this first phase.

Yellow line

The Yellow line travels from Abuja's Central Business District to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.

Blue Line

The Blue Line will travel from Idu to Kubwa.

Future expansion

A network totalling is proposed, divided into six phases or 'lots'. Lots 1 and 3 have finished construction. * Lot 2 is from Gwagwa via Transportation Centre (Metro Station) to Nyanya/ Karu * Lot 4 is from Kuje to Karshi with the remaining legs of the Transitway Line 2 * Lot 5 from Kubwa via Bwari to

Suleja Suleja is a city in Niger State, Nigeria, just north of Abuja, capital of the country. It is sometimes confused with the nearby city of Abuja, due to its proximity and the fact that it was originally named Abuja before the Nigerian government ad ...

* Lot 6 from Airport via Kuje and Gwagwalada to Dobi.

References

* {{Suburban railways in Africa Transport in Abuja

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

Light rail in Nigeria Proposed transport infrastructure in Nigeria Railway lines opened in 2018 2018 establishments in Nigeria 21st-century architecture in Nigeria