President Bola Tinubu is set to inaugurate the completed sections of two major Northern rail lines on December 3, marking a major milestone in his administration’s push to overhaul Nigeria’s transportation network and boost regional trade.
The upcoming launch will open the 190-kilometre Jaji–Kano segment of the 203-kilometre Kaduna–Zaria–Kano Standard Gauge Railway, alongside a 250-kilometre section of the Kano–Katsina–Maradi line linking Dawanau, Kano, Kazaure, Daura, and Katsina.
The announcement on Sunday followed a joint on-site inspection ordered by the President and led by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Funso Adebiyi.
The inspection team completed a test-run journey from Jaji in Kaduna State to Kano to evaluate track alignment, drainage protection, embankment stability, and passenger readiness.
“Work across both corridors has progressed rapidly,” Adebiyi noted during the inspection, expressing satisfaction with the construction quality and civil engineering standards.
The acceleration represents a sharp turn in project timelines. When President Tinubu took office in May 2023, construction on the Kano–Katsina–Maradi route stood at roughly 5 percent, while the Kaduna–Kano corridor was less than 30 percent complete.
Presently, overall progress on the Kaduna–Kano line has crossed 90 percent, while the 400-kilometre cross-border Kano–Katsina–Maradi line has reached 70 percent completion.
To ensure seamless operations along the full corridor, President Tinubu has ordered the immediate resolution of all lingering land acquisition and right-of-way compensation claims within Kaduna metropolis, clearing the path to fully link Abuja to Kano by rail.
Once fully operational, the extended Kaduna–Kano line will complete a continuous standard-gauge network stretching from the Federal Capital Territory through Kaduna and Zaria to Kano—one of West Africa’s primary commercial hubs.
Concurrently, the Kano–Katsina–Maradi line is expected to transform cross-border logistics between Nigeria and Niger Republic, cutting transit times for heavy freight and offering a safer, lower-cost alternative to long-distance road transport.
Government officials maintain that the December inaugurations reflect the administration’s broader commitment to completing critical infrastructure nationwide on schedule.