Minister of Transportation, Saidu Alkali, Unveils Maiden Cargo Transport on Lagos-Ibadan Rail Corridor
During his inaugural inspection of the Lagos-Ibadan rail corridor, Minister of Transportation, Saidu Alkali, officiated the launch of the first cargo movement on Tuesday.
The minister commenced his tour at the Ebute Meta station, subsequently proceeding to Apapa for the official launch. He then embarked on a journey to Ibadan, traversing the 157 km rail corridor.
The inaugural freight movement featured the loading of three coaches, each consisting of 30 wagons.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has outlined its plan to initiate the service with three coaches per day. The Managing Director of NRC emphasized the corporation’s capacity to scale up operations in the future.
This significant initiative is expected to alleviate congestion at the Apapa port, which played a substantial role in handling 92.28 percent of Nigeria’s total exports and 60.77 percent of imports in the first quarter of 2022 (Q1’22).
