FG to Power Train Locomotive Engine with CNG
The Federal Government has commenced process of converting railway locomotive engines from diesel to Compressed Natural Gas.
The Minister of Transportation, Sa’idu Alkali, disclosed this during an inspection of the retrofitting exercise at Idu train station in Abuja.
Alkali explained that the process was at an advanced stage, adding that the engine was designed to initially run on diesel, but will now be powered by gas.
He stated that the conversion of the engines would use both diesel and CNG, noting that when completed, the engine would run on 70 per cent gas and 30 per cent on diesel.
“We started in the last one month. Nigeria is the first African country to convert diesel engines to gas. The engine will work 30 per cent on diesel and 70 per cent on gas. At the time you want to start the locomotive, you use diesel, but after starting it, you switch to gas, and then it will keep on moving.
“We have interacted with the engineers and the process is at an advanced stage and we are going to test-run the engine and then determine when we will start rolling out the CNG locomotives.”
“We want to start with Kaduna, Abuja, because the workshop is in Abuja here once we finish the retrofitting, we will then continue with all the remaining corridors.”
The Federal Government has chosen gas as the country’s transition fuel as it aims to achieve zero-emission by 2050.
