The Federal Government will deploy 350 wagons and 36 coaches on the Lagos-Ibadan rail line and will increase the frequency of free train rides on the route from December 21, 2019. According to the Managing Director of Nigeria Railway Corporation, Fidet Okhiria, the Federal Government had also concluded arrangements to connect the already constructed Warri-Itakpe railway to the Abuja-Kaduna line.
Okhiria, who disclosed this at the National Transportation Summit of the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria, further revealed that e-ticketing service on the busy Abuja-Kaduna route would start before the end of 2019. He said, “The trail run on the Lagos-Ibadan line was done on Saturday and it was just made up of two coaches. We will continue to do a return trip every day, where the train leaves Ibadan by 9.00 a.m. and leaves Lagos by 4.00 p.m.
“But after 21st December, we will be running two return trips. We are doing this at a fair loss, stressing the track so that if there are errors in the formation or any other thing, it will come out before the full commencement of commercial operations in April.”
