Laying of standard gauge tracks will not affect NRC operations – Official

The laying of the standard gauge tracks as part of the ongoing construction of Lagos-Ibadan rail line will not affect the daily operations of the Lagos District.
Augustine Arisa, the Acting Lagos Railway District Manager of the Nigeria Railway Corporation, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Thursday.
The acting RDM also said that the district transported no fewer than 445,943 passengers in the first quarter of the year.
Arisa said that both the narrow and the standard gauges were on separate lines and that one would not disrupt the operations of the other.
He said that the minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, had assured the public that the narrow gauge would continue to run its operations.
Arisa added that the minister also added that the laying of the standard gauge tracks would start in Lagos State soon.
He said: “In fact, the laying of the standard gauge had started in the neighbouring towns and villages along the rail corridor from Lagos to Ibadan.
“However, the laying of tracks in Lagos has been delayed because the NRC wanted to put all the utilities in place.’’
The acting RDM, speaking on the district’s performance said that it transported no fewer than 445,943 passengers in the first quarter of the year.
He said that the district moved 136, 091 passengers in January, transported 143, 047 and 166,805 passengers respectively in February and March.
Arisa said: “We operated 16-passenger trains daily from Apapa/Iddo to Ijoko, in Ogun, using both the Diesel Multiple Units and the Mass Transit Trains, during the period.’’
The RDM said that 400,960 passengers were transported through the Mass Transit Trains service, while the DMU and the Express trains moved 39,571 and 5,412, 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.
NAN reports that Rotimi Amaechi had said that laying of the standard gauge tracks of the Lagos-Ibadan rail line would start in Lagos State this April.
The minister disclosed this during an on-the-spot assessment of the construction work of the project at Papalanto in Ogun on Monday, March 12.