Oshodi railway station re-opens in March -NRC

Vanguard The Lagos District of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) on Wednesday said it would re-open its Oshodi Station in Lagos next month.

The NRC Lagos District General Manager, Mr Akin Osinowo, who made the disclosure at a news conference in Lagos, said that the re-opening of the station was part of the Mass Train Transit Services (MTTS) scheme of the NRC.

Osinowo said that the Lagos District was mobilising personnel and putting some security measures in place to ensure a hitch-free operation.

“Oshodi will be re-opening in the next three to four week, before the end of March.

“It should have been back about a month ago, but unfortunately, we had a setback.

“This is because shortly after we had rehabilitated the station and ready to take off, it was burnt and a lot of damage was done by hoodlums.

“It was vandalised; we had to start from scratch.

“But as we speak, there are our members of staff in Oshodi so we are just putting in place one or two safety mechanisms to make sure that we don’t have the same problem.

The manager urged members of the public and security agents to help monitor railway facilities against vandalism.

“People have to work with the NRC to sustain the transformation of railway in Nigeria, we have the Man ‘O War which has a long history with the NRC.

“At the moment we are trying to engage men of the Civil Defence Corps to help in both monitoring of trains and our rolling stocks.

He said that the district intended to increase its trips under the MTTS to meet the demand of commuters.

The manager expressed hope that the MTTS would be extended to Ifo in Ogun.

According to him, the NRC will take delivery of two DMU trains and six fully air-conditioned coaches by the end of March to tackle congestion problem.

Oshodi, one of the NRC’s biggest and most patronised stations, was closed down in 2007, following a clash between two factions of the National Union of Road Transports Workers.