The Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) has unveiled its plan to initiate night operations by early 2024, aiming to expand passenger and freight train services amid prevailing security challenges in the country.
In a recent interview with NAN, the Managing Director of NRC, Fidet Okhiria, highlighted that the corporation is currently constrained to daytime operations due to security concerns. However, Okhiria emphasized that trains are meant to operate round the clock and expressed the corporation’s determination to reintroduce night trips.
Okhiria revealed, “We intend to bring back passenger and freight trains from Port-Harcourt to Aba, Lagos to Kano, and Kaduna because of the dry ports.” He further stated the intention to increase the number of train trips on various routes, such as Lagos-Ibadan, Warri-Itakpe, and Abuja-Kaduna, from the current four trips to six, allowing for three trips in each direction.
The Managing Director assured that the night trips are scheduled to commence before the second quarter of 2024, with the plan to run six trips a day, catering to the growing demand for efficient railway transportation.
The announcement from NRC signifies a significant leap in the effort to revitalize railway services in Nigeria, amplifying its accessibility and operational hours to better serve the public and the burgeoning freight needs.
