Sunday Alamba/AP
Passengers ride an Ooni of Ife train to Kano, Nigeria, March 8, 2013.
Nigeria reopened its train line to the north on Dec. 21, marking the end of a $166 million project to rebuild portions of the abandoned line washed out years earlier. The state-owned China Civil Engineering Construction Corp. rebuilt the southern portion of the line, while a Nigerian company handled the rest.
The rebirth of the lines constitutes a major economic relief to the poor who want to travel in a country where most earn less than $1 a day. Airline tickets remain out of the reach of many and journeys over the nation's crumbling road network can be dangerous. The cheapest train ticket available costs only $13.
Sunday Alamba/AP
A man walks past an Ooni of Ife train to Kano, at a terminal in Lagos, Nigeria, March 8, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
A passenger rides aboard an Ooni of Ife train to Kano, Nigeria, March 8, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
Passengers wait to board a train to Kano, in Lagos, Nigeria, March . 8, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
Passengers board an Ooni of Ife train to Kano, in Lagos, Nigeria, March 8, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
Nigerian policeman board an Ooni of Ife train to provide security for passengers traveling to Kano, in Lagos, Nigeria, March 8, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
Passengers board an Ooni of Ife train to Kano, in Lagos, Nigeria, March 8, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
A passenger balances a bag with a portrait of U.S President Barrack Obama, as she waits to board a train in Lagos, Nigeria, March 15, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
A passenger checks train fares at a terminal in Lagos, Nigeria, March 8, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
A train driver is seen on an Ooni of Ife train to Kano, in Lagos, Nigeria, March 8, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
A train driver stands on an Ooni of Ife train to Kano, in Lagos, Nigeria, March 8, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
Passengers ride an Ooni of Ife train to Kano, Nigeria, March 8, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
A man displays train tickets to Kano, in Lagos, Nigeria, March 8, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
Passengers purchase train tickets to Kano, in Lagos, Nigeria, March 8, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
A passengers carrying a baby boards an Ooni of Ife train to Kano, Nigeria March 8, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
A Muslim women peers out the door aboard an Ooni of Ife train to Kano, in Nigeria, March 8, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
Children sit on board an Ooni of Ife train to Kano, Nigeria, March 8, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
People sell tomatoes and peppers along the railway line that runs from Lagos to Kano, in Nigeria, March 8, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
Passengers ride an Ooni of Ife train to Kano, Nigeria, March 8, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
Passengers ride aboard an Ooni of Ife train to Kano, Nigeria, March 9, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
Passengers board an Ooni of Ife train in Minna to Kano, Nigeria, March 9, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
A police officer peers out the door of an Ooni of Ife train to Kano, Nigeria, March 9, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
A passenger waits for an Ooni of Ife train to arrive in Kano, Nigeria, March 9, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
A child sleeps on the floor aboard an Ooni of Ife train to Kano, Nigeria, MArch 9, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
Passengers aboard an Ooni of Ife train to Kano, buy drinks and water at a train terminal in Mnna, Nigeria, March 9, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
A derailed train car is seen on route from Lagos to Kano in Nigeria, March 9, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
In this Photo taken, Saturday, March . 9, 2013, a passenger carries his baby as he board an Ooni of Ife train to Kano, Nigeria. Nigeria reopened its train line to the north Dec. 21, marking the end of a $166 million project to rebuild portions of the abandoned line washed out years earlier. The state-owned China Civil Engineering Construction Corp. rebuilt the southern portion of the line, while a Nigerian company handled the rest. The rebirth of the lines constitutes a major economic relief to the poor who want to travel in a country where most earn less than $1 a day. Airline tickets remain out of the reach of many and journeys over the nation's crumbling road network can be dangerous. The cheapest train ticket available costs only $13. ( AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
Sunday Alamba/AP
Lagos to Kano rail track passes through a central market in Kaduna, Nigeria, March 9, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
Passengers lineup to purchased train tickets to Kano, in a terminal in Lagos, Nigeria, March 15, 2013.
Sunday Alamba/AP
Rickshaws are park outside the train station in Lagos, Nigeria, March 15, 2013.