The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) says it will commence the movement of container freights from APM Terminals in Apapa, Lagos to Inland Container Nigeria (ICN) depots in Kaduna and Kano in line with its plan to revive the sector.

The operation is expected to help in de-congesting transportation as well as facilitating the establishment and use of Inland Container Depots (ICD) along the track corridors.

According to the MD/CEO of NRC, Mr Adeseyi Sijuade, “the container traffic was a strategy demonstrating the carriage ability and readiness of the corporation to propel the rail transport sector.”

Sijuade mentioned that the commission will acquire some new assets which include four 1800 HP locomotives, and two 100 ton telescopic cranes.

Nigeria’s  decaying railway system has witnessed several attempts to revive its operations. However, years of neglect of the rolling stock and the right-of-way have seriously reduced the capacity and utility of the system.

On the 21st of December 2012, the Nigerian government inaugurated the Lagos – Kano intercity passenger train services and haulage of petroleum products.

If the sector is improved and well managed, it has the potential of boosting the country’s economy and de-congesting traffic of major cities such as Lagos, the most populous in Africa.

“This will go a long way to improve the economy and environmental sustainability of the nation”, Sijuade said.