NRC: Ibadan-Lagos Railway Passengers Seek Early Travel Time, Frequency, Infrastructure Maintenance

LAGOS – Train passengers travel­ling along the modern­ized railway services from Ibadan to Lagos have appealed to the manage­ment of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to increase the frequency of its operations within the week.

In addition, the concerned passengers also appealed to the management of the corporation to make departure time, espe­cially from the Prof Wole Soy­inka Station in Abeokuta earli­er to 8 in the morning against the current 8.47 a.m. time from Abeokuta.

Since its launch on June 10, 2021, the Lagos- Ibadan Railway has made remarkable progress. As of 28th of February, 2025, the railway has safely operated for over 1351 days.

The Lagos-Ibadan railway is part of the Nigerian Railway Modernisation Project, consist­ing in the realization of a new standard gauge railway line from Lagos to Kano with connec­tions to Abuja, via Minna and Kaduna, a total length of 1315 km. The estimated project cost is US$1.5 billion.

A concerned passenger, No­siru Abideen urged the man­agement of the corporation to consider passengers travelling for business along the railway corridors having to wait till about 9 a.m. for the train to ar­rive Prof Wole Soyinka station before departure to Lagos.

“They should consider those of us travelling to Lagos to re­sume work for the week. If I choose to travel by road from Kuto garage to Lagos and board a bus or car from the garage at 6.30 a.m., I will arrive in Lagos maximum 8 a.m. Why do I have to waste time waiting for the train until some minutes to 9 in the morning when I am sup­posed to have been at the desk at my place of work?

A female passenger who boarded the train from Abeo­kuta and pleaded anonymity said it never occurred to her that the train would leave late for the morning schedule fixed for 8.57 a.m.

The passenger, who became agitated due to the morning schedule of the train, told Trav­el and Hospitality that she opted for the train due to the prohibi­tive cost of fuel to embark on the journey to Lagos in her vehicle.

“They should attend to our complaint. The train should de­part Ibadan and arrive in Abeo­kuta at about 8 o’clock, and wait for five minutes to pick up pas­sengers in Abeokuta en route Lagos.

Another passenger, Mr. Popoo­la expressed dissatisfaction with 8.57 a.m. to 10.09 a.m. travel time on the route, saying the schedule is too late for business and work­ers travelling both ways.

Yusuff Akinsola, who board­ed the train at the Wole Soyinka Train Station in Abeokuta said, “The time is late. Ordinarily, I would have joined the public bus at Kuto by 6.30 a.m. and arrived at Berger within a maximum time of 8.30 a.m. at most.”

Another respondent travel­ling with some artisans from the Abeokuta Station en route to Victoria Island lamented that the schedule was late for his op­erations.

Akinsola, a tiller, added, “On many occasions, we get to La­gos by 7 in the morning via the Abeokuta-Sagamu-Lagos roads. I am too impatient to waste time waiting for the train that will ar­rive at 8.57 a.m. for a business trip.

“For instance, all my workers arrived at the station at about 7.30 a.m. I found out from offi­cials that the train from Ibadan will arrive at the Wole Soyinka Station at 8.57. That time is late for business. The management should do something urgent about the departure time. I am at the station wasting useful man-hours with my workers waiting for the train.”

He added, “My idea of the railway transport services is to make it a preferred option for my workers to and fro Lagos. However, the reverse is the case with the current development.”

However, Akinsola also frowned at the two schedules each of 8. 57 a.m. and 4 p.m. for Monday to Thursday and appealed to the authority to increase the schedule for week­days to 3 daily as it is on week­ends.

Concerted efforts to talk to the Managing Director/Chief Executive, Dr Kayode Opeifa did not materialize as his telephone lines could not be reached.

It would be recalled that Kayo­de Opeifa, had recently reaf­firmed its commitment to mak­ing rail transport the preferred mobility option in the country and improve passengers’ experi­ence by increasing the number of coaches and enhancing train frequency.

Dr Opeifa spoke as he hosted reggae artist John Odafe Asi­moh, popularly known as Daddy Showkey, who entertained pas­sengers aboard the Warri-Itak­pe Train Service during a brief fuelling delay.

He assured that the corpora­tion would focus on providing more passenger coaches and wagons to enhance convenience, safety, and affordability for Ni­gerians.