Railway Corporation Cancels Lagos-Kano Train Service Due To Track Washout
The Nigerian Railway Corporation on Friday cancelled its Lagos-Kano train service due to rail tracks washout between Offa and Ilorin, following a downpour on Thursday afternoon.
Niyi Alli, the Corporation's Director of Operations, said in Lagos on Friday that heavy rainfall in Ilorin caused more harm on he tracks.
'We were working on the washout that happened between Offa and Ilorin on Tuesday to be able to embark on a trip to Kano today, but unfortunately more heavy rains came yesterday afternoon and caused more washout.
'We do not want to take a risk; the reason we had to cancel the trip was because safety is our primary objective.
'We are indeed sorry for inconveniences it might have caused our customers,' Alli said.
Meanwhile the Iddo Train Terminus was overcrowded on Friday as the free train ride for Osun indigenes entered Day Two.
Osun Government approved free train tickets for the state indigenes in celebration of Eid-El-Kabir (Sallah).
The free ride began on Thursday.
Many passengers sat on train floors while some hung on the doors to be able to reach their destinations on Friday and celebrate Sallah on Saturday.
On the other hand, commercial bus operators at Ijora and Ojota, Lagos, motor parks are decrying low turnout of passengers.
An interstate bus driver at Ijora, who simply identified himself as Tajudeen, said that it took more than one hour to load the first bus and more hours to load subsequent ones.
'I have been here since 6.00a.m., and I am the third to load; you can imagine that I am still on the line by 11a.m. When am I going to load and embark on the journey?
'I do not know why people refuse to travel for the festival,' Tajudeen said.
A passenger, Mr Mufu Ariyo, said that the low turnout could be as a result of school resumption immediately after Sallah holiday.
'I am embarking on this journey because it is necessary to see my aged mother; otherwise, I would have stayed back in Lagos to celebrate the festival.
'Things are hard; students will be going back to school for a new session; house rents are to be paid,' Ariyo said.
A trip from Lagos to Ilorin by a Federal Government Mass Transit bus costs N2,500 as against N2,000 before now, while smaller buses charge N3,000 in stead of N2,500.
A trip from Lagos to Kaduna in a small bus costs N6,700 while Lagos to Kano costs N6,500.
A trip from Ojota to Ibadan costs N850 as against N800, while transport from Lagos to Osogbo by car costs N1, 500 or N1,700 as against N1,350
A trip from Lagos to Osogbo by bus costs N1,500 as against N1, 200.
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