NRC moved 1 million passengers within Lagos in 6 months – Oche

The Lagos District of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) said on Thursday that it transported about one million passengers in its shuttle service trains between January and June, this year.

Mr Jerry Oche, the Lagos Railway District Manager (RDM) of the NRC, disclosed this in an interview with our correspondent in Lagos.

“We operated 16-passenger trains daily from Apapa/Iddo to Ijoko, in Ogun, using the Diesel Multiple Units (DMU) and the Mass Transit Trains, during the period,’’ Oche said.

The RDM said that 848,944 passengers were transported through the Mass Transit Trains(MTT) service, while the DMU and the Express trains moved about 109,809 and 12,984 passengers, respectively, within the period.

According to him, the Lagos district is popular for its excursion train rides, which are frequently patronised by schools, organisations and agencies.

Oche said that the corporation was planning to acquire locomotives and wagons of different models to facilitate the operation of the mass transit trains.

The RDM also said that the menace of roof-top riders posed a serious threat to the smooth running of train services within the Lagos district.

According to him, the complete eradication of rooftop riding is required to boost passengers patronage and enhance the corporation’s reputation.

He said that efforts were, however, on to find a permanent solution to the menace.

“Very soon, the act of climbing the roof-top of the train will come to a permanent stop in Lagos,’’ Oche added.

It was reported that proactive measures had been put in place by the district to prevent accidents on rail tracks and level crossings in the district, during the rainy season.