NRC raises alarm over vandalisation of rail tracks

The Nigeria Railway Cooperation (NRC) has raised concern over the continuous vandalisation of railway tracks inside Apapa seaport.

The Director of Operations and Commercial Services, NRC, Oshilowo Akinwunmi, raised the alarm during a stakeholder engagement in Lagos State.

He lamented that most of the railway assets inside the Apapa port had been vandalised by unknown persons, hence unable to access their GDL line, which is at the quayside of the port.

“Anytime we repair these vandalised sections of railway assets inside the ports, they are vandalised again. It is quite frustrating and we hope the relevant authorities can help us look into this issue,” he stated.

Akinwunmi also lamented NRC locomotives face challenges in accessing the ports due to too many trucks clogging the railway right of way inside the Apapa Bulk Terminal Limited (ABTL) section of the port.

“We need to have some clarity between rail and port jurisdiction, because our locomotives keep having issues when coming into the ports around the ABTL terminal of the Apapa Port,” he said.

He said not having enough marshaling yards inside the ports makes bringing train locomotives into the APM Terminals in Apapa a continuous nightmare,

Akinwunmi said the corridor through which NRC navigates into the ports at ABTL terminal is too narrow and always congested with trailers.