Trading activities slow down train movement in Lagos

There was near chaos around Agege railway tracks, last month when the train from Ibadan on the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge, almost crushed a beggar who reportedly slept off on the tracks.

His case typifies the daily scenario on the railway tracks in Lagos, which have been converted to all sorts of activities. From begging to trading, to relaxation spots, railway tracks in most parts of Lagos have been virtually taken over.

The most worrisome trend is the display of goods on the tracks including the newly constructed Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge tracks.

Eko Trust observed that many traders display their wares on the tracks at Ikeja along; Agege and Oshodi. They would quickly retreat anytime the train was approaching while some would even forget to remove their wares on the tracks.

The traders have become more emboldened despite the several crackdowns and raids by the officials of the state government especially the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) officials. Between 2019 and 2020, the state government embarked on several operations to clear the rail tracks of traders by confiscating their wares and prosecuting the traders.

But checks by our correspondent yesterday showed that as the government pursued the traders away from the rail tracks, they returned as soon as the officials departed.

With increased train movement along the rail corridor in Lagos, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) is concerned about the activities of traders on the facility, saying it is slowing down the movement of trains.

Eko Trust reports that the NRC has recently commenced commercial operations on the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge with one daily trip from Ibadan in the morning and A return in the evening. This is apart from the narrow-gauge mass transit train from Apapa to Ijoko.

The NRC Regional District Manager (RDM), Lagos District, Engr. Jerry Oche, told our correspondent that trading activities on the railway tracks have slowed down the train movement. He said while the train was supposed to run for one hour, 30 minutes from Ibadan, the train currently does two hours, 40 minutes because of the activities in Lagos.

He however said the NRC would erect a fence in the whole corridor to prevent people from trading on the tracks.

“As a matter of fact, in Lagos-Ibadan, we are doing two hours, 40 minutes because of the activities in Lagos. We lost almost all the time we gained between Ibadan and Abeokuta when we get to Lagos because the train had to slow down.

“What we intend to do is to fence the whole corridor to a level and then put a see-through fence. If anybody is in the corridor after we do this, we are prosecuting. We can’t design a track for 150 kilometres per hour and end up doing 20 km because of trading activities.

“The track is not a trading spot. People must look for somewhere else to trade,” he added.