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Oil marketers strategise to begin rail haulage

By Sulaimon Salau
21 October 2015   |   1:42 am
Irked by the setback frequently caused by the anomalies in pipeline system and truck haulage of petroleum products, the marketers have considered adopting the railway wagon haulage system for easy and convenient delivery of products across the country. The Guardian learnt that the marketers are making arrangement with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to draw…

pipelineIrked by the setback frequently caused by the anomalies in pipeline system and truck haulage of petroleum products, the marketers have considered adopting the railway wagon haulage system for easy and convenient delivery of products across the country.

The Guardian learnt that the marketers are making arrangement with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to draw out modalities of making the wagon haulage a reality amid safety and cost concerns.

The Chief Executive Officer, Oando Marketing, Mrs. Williams Olabosi, who also confimed the development to The Guardian in Lagos, said the wagon haulage would reduce the congestion on roads and make product delivery easier and quicker than before.

She however noted that the two parties involved (NRC and marketers) are now working assiduously to bring the dream to fruition.

“We are in partnership with NRC and the major marketers and we are working out the blueprint. We have come to realise that rather than doing normal truck haulage system, we can always do wagon haulage and it would enhance our operations,” she said.

According to her, the main factor for consideration was the issue of safety on rail, and that has been on the table while ideas and solutions are in the pipeline.

The dilapidated nature of the pipelines and exposure to vandalism had forced the nation’s petroleum downstream sector to concentrate on tanker haulage, but the challenges are becoming enormous on a daily basis, making the operators to look into other alternatives.

In recent times, tanker explosion has claimed lives and properties in Abule Egba and Idimu area of Lagos, the latest was the fire from a petrol tanker, which fell on its side at Owode-Ijako junction, along Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway in the early hours of Saturday, reportedly killed the driver and injured a family of six.

Besides, the road congestion on the Apapa axis, the hub of petroleum products depots has posed serious threat to businesses in the area and therefore making the truck haulage more uninteresting.

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