The federal government on Wednesday said it would no longer tolerate encroachment on the rail corridors.
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, stated that the ministry in collaboration with the Lagos State government would begin to arrest and jail traders selling on rail tracks in the state.
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Speaking with newsmen during his routine inspection of the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail, Amaechi expressed concern over the rate at which people abused the rail corridor.
This is just as he assured that the China Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation (CCECC), handling the 156-km project, has promised to deliver three stations by the end of the month.
Daily Trust reports that a train accident on Monday killed two people in Lagos.
Amaechi said: “The rate at which people defecate and display their wares on the rail tracks in Lagos is becoming worrisome.
“This has made the new standard gauge to look like an old track.
“The accident that happened recently occurred because of the vehicle parked on the narrow gauge rail tracks.
“I was told by the experts that it takes 800 metres for a train to stop when it’s at full speed.
“The vehicle was parked there because the occupants were waiting for people to open the Arena shopping complex.
“Because it takes 800 meters for a train to stop when at full speed, the train could not apply brakes when the driver saw the vehicle parked on the rail tracks.
“That was why the train rammed into the vehicle.
“The Lagos State governor and I have agreed that the train tracks are not parking spaces or a market, so henceforth, traders arrested selling along the train tracks will be prosecuted and jailed.
“We need to stop people encroaching on the rail tracks in Lagos,” Amaechi stated.
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