Lagos-Ibadan trains moved 42,000 passengers in June – Amaechi

• Says Kaduna-Abuja train breakdown due to delayed spare parts
The recently launched Lagos-Ibadan trains conveyed a total of 42,000 passengers in the month of June 2021, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has said.
He also said the recurrent breakdown recently experienced on the Kaduna-Abuja trains was due to delay in spare parts delivery from China.
The minister, who spoke on Friday after a routine inspection of the Lagos-Ibadan rail project in Lagos, however assured the Kaduna-Abuja train passengers that spare parts being expected for the Lagos-Ibadan trains would be used for the northern train locomotives when they arrived.
Amaechi said the number of passengers using the Lagos-Ibadan train was expected to increase as more people became aware of the benefits of the new train service.
He added that he had told the Nigerian Railway Corporation to increase the number of daily trains on that route from four to six.
The plan, he stressed, was to make the daily trips between Lagos and Ibadan 16 trains.
Amaechi said, “On the Lagos-Ibadan trains, 42,000 passengers were moved in June. We expect the figure to increase in the coming months because if we can move 42,000 in the month that we started, then the figure will increase as more people become aware of the train services between Lagos and Ibadan.”
The minister also spoke on the completion stage of the train stations, saying due to a recent kidnap of some Chinese officials in the Olodo area of Ogun State, the train station there had yet to be completed.
The minister said most of the stations had been completed except for Olodo being delayed due to the kidnap of Chinese officials. He also disclosed that the contractor had completed most of the communication and signalling work, but he noted, “We need to observe the project for the next six months to be sure everything is working perfectly as planned.
“If not, we won’t be able to do the 16 trips-a-day train schedule as planned. The reason we are inspecting is to be sure everything is working as planned. After six months, when we are very sure of what we are seeing, then we can bring in new coaches and locomotives and increase the trips.
“As of today, I have directed the NRC to scale up the number of trips per day from four to eight.” Speaking on the issue with the Kaduna-Abuja train, he said, “After the last breakdown of the Kaduna-Abuja train, I instructed the Nigerian Railway Corporation to rest that particular locomotive. I am surprised that there was another breakdown in the early hours of today.
“The issue with the breakdown of the Kaduna-Abuja train is due to lack of maintenance which is attributable to a lack of spare parts from China. We have written to Mr President on this issue and he has graciously approved the purchase of spare parts for the Lagos-Ibadan trains. Very soon, the Chinese people will supply us with enough spare parts for the Lagos-Ibadan rail. By the time they do that, we will be forced to use some of these spare parts for the Kaduna-Abuja trains and hopefully, the issue of incessant breakdown of the trains will be resolved.