From the Apapa Port in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital city, the maiden container freight train of the Lagos-Ibadan Railway has completed its journey. The trip reportedly took two and a half hours to be completed.
China Civil Engineering Construction Company’s website released a statement on Thursday, stating that the train carried 30 units of 40-foot containers to Ibadan.
The statement also mentioned that “The Nigerian Railway Corporation is planning to operate one pair of container trains daily and gradually increase the number of trains as demand grows, thereby enhancing the railway transportation system behind Lagos Port.”
Similarly, Executive Director, CCECC, John Zhao took to the social media platform, X formerly known as Twitter to tweet about the development.
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“The first container freight train of the Lagos-Ibadan railway, built by CCECC, has set off from Apapa Port in Lagos, Nigeria. It departed from Apapa Port and carried a total of thirty 40-foot containers, arriving at Ibadan station in just two and a half hours”.
In June 2021, former President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the 157-kilometre rail system for passenger services and to facilitate efficient cargo evacuation from Apapa Port, which comprises five terminals and eight jetties in total.
The installation of this facility aims to alleviate the burden of container transportation on roads and reduce congestion at both the port and its access routes.
Although passenger services commenced within five days of the inauguration, the NRC faced several delays in initiating cargo operations due to unforeseen obstacles.