Urban Transformation in the Context of Rail Transport Development: The Case of a Warri-Itakpe Railway Line in Nigeria

Abstract

A solid rail transportation system is important for a country’s economic prosperity. The way trains operate around the world has changed dramatically. Railways have undergone substantial modernization and improvement to better serve their consumers. Over the last century, rail transit in Nigeria has risen at a significantly slower rate than in the industrialized world. For some time now, operational losses have been mounting. After independence, Nigeria railway system was unable to adjust to shifting political and economic realities. Until recently, Nigeria’s railway sector had lost a significant amount of clout and competitiveness. Recent government investments and regulations have highlighted the importance of Nigeria’s railway system. Railroads support job creation, economic expansion, trade, and cost savings. As a result, local, regional, and national connectedness improves. The passage of a number of rail transportation-related legislation, rules, and projects in Nigeria has altered global perceptions about the country’s rail transportation system. For a long time, there has been a lack of research on the growth of Nigeria’s railway infrastructure and built environment. The goal of this research is to perform a long-term review of the growth of the railway network and its impact on the built-up region between 1987 and 2021, utilizing Warri-Itakpe as a case study. The Warri–Itakpe Railway connects Nigeria’s port city of Warri to an inland town. The industrial rail at Ajaokuta Steel was built in 1987. The suggested study employs both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. It will estimate binomial logit models to forecast the likelihood of new stations being built based on the amount of built-up area preceding and following the new station, as well as the likelihood that a new station would promote further growth, using a concentric buffer of one kilometer around railway stations. New stations are more likely to be built in undeveloped areas than in established built-up areas already served by existing stations as time passes.