The Federal Government has inaugurated the first cargo movement from the Lagos-Ibadan rail corridor after initial concern over the under-utilization of the standard gauge rail line 2 years after its commissioning.
The inauguration was performed by the Minister of Transportation, Saidu Alkali, during his first official tour of the rail corridor today.
The minister kicked off the tour at the Ebute Meta station before proceeding to Apapa for the launch, then travelled to Ibadan using the 157 km rail corridor.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) said it would start with 3 coaches per day with its Managing Director noting that the corporation had the capacity to scale up the numbers.
This cargo movement is expected to decongest the Apapa port as shippers moved 92.28% of Nigeria’s total exports and 60.77 percent of imports through the facility in the first quarter of 2022.
