The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) on Wednesday re-opened freight wagon operations from Lagos ports to other parts of the country.
Reiterating resolve of the Corporation to sustain the service , the District Manager, Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Mr Jerry Oche, explained that 16 wagons left for Zaria on Wednesday, pointing out that “The last time we had the long haul freight wagon was before the COVID-19 pandemic, early last year.
“What you are witnessing this afternoon is a movement of the first long train from Lagos District office to Zaria.
“We have 6,000 industrial pipes on the ground going to Zaria and if we calculate how many pipes per wagon, we will be calculating over 27 trains to transport the pipes.
“It has been long we embark on this kind of journey but we may have to stop when it gets dark,’’ Ochei told NAN.
He was optimistic that by Friday or Saturday, due to stop-overs, the wagons should be able to arrive at Zaria.
News Agency of Nigeria quoted the District Manager as saying the corporation had already sent two trains, one to Ibadan and the other to Minna.
According to the manager, that the corporation has also begun the Apapa Shuttle for the carriage of consignments from the ports.
He appealed to port users in parts of Nigeria to patronise the NRC with a view to ending gridlocks in the port environment.
He recalled that before the outbreak of COVID-19, the corporation carried 19 wagons of consignments.
This, he said, meant that NRC was able to take 19 trucks off the road.He added that the train that just left for Zaria, had 16 wagons.
