Updated: Lagos-Ibadan train set to go 80km/h, NRC warns traders around track

Updated: Lagos-Ibadan trains set to go 80km/h, NRC warns traders around track 

* Railway workers caught on camera collecting money get dismissal verdict

Trains on travelling on Lagos-Ibadan standard guage rail line will soon double their speed from 40 kilometres per hour to 80km/h.

Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, Engr. Fidet Okhiria, disclosed this in interview with Television Continental (TVC) and warned all traders and other people still operating or playing around the track to stay clear.

Okhiria also announced that the electronic ticketing (e-ticketing) on the standard gauge lines would commence next week.

He said trains had operated on the Lagos-Ibadan line at 40km/h since it was inaugurated in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to him, the designed speed of the track is 150km and that NRC plans to gradually move to 120/h.

Okhiria stated, “We are going to be increasing our speed, especially within Lagos.

“I’m also using this opportunity to tell our brothers and sisters playing on the track to stop it.

“Right now, we are doing 40 kilometres. We are going to be moving to 80 kilometres because the tracks are designed for 150km/h but we won’t mind going gradually to 120km per hour, especially within Lagos.

“People should be aware of that and those who cross the track should be aware of that and they should obey the level crossing lights and obey our signal men.

“We have gone out to start making public announcements already at Oshodi, Yaba, Mushin and Agege, telling them that the speed of the train is going to go up as we cannot continue to short-change ourselves if the train is designed to run at 150km; it is not a place to trade.”

Okhiria also spoke on the introduction of e-ticketing on the route and others.

He said, “The e-ticketing is the way to go; it is the way to secure our money and investments because as you buy your ticket, it goes to the government coffers directly.

“We have it on Abuja-Kaduna train and we are also going to have it on Lagos-Ibadan and Itakpe-Warri. By the end of the month, our passengers should start using it.”

Okhiria disclosed that some NRC workers caught on camera collecting fares for a ride in the train in Ibadan had been recommended for dismissal in accordance with the extant rules of the corporation.