There are palpable fears that in a bid to resolve the intractable Apapa gridlock caused by truckers lifting containers from seaports, the planned rail transit of containers to Ebute-Meta terminal may equally relocate traffic chaos to the formally sleepy axis of Lagos.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), had on Monday, announced the introduction of a 24-hour daily freight train shuttle between the Apapa Port and Ebute Meta, Lagos to decongest the seaport and ease traffic around the Apapa axis.
NRC averred that the freight train would move containers from the nation’s busiest port, Apapa, to Ebute Meta, where trucks would be waiting to transport them to other parts of Lagos and the country.
The Director of Operations, NRC, Mr. Niyi Ali, gave the indication at a press briefing in Lagos, adding that the new service would commence next week.
It would be recalled that endless wait for along the highways and even bridges leading to the nation’s port city of Apapa had been the reason behind intractable traffic gridlock within the axis.
However, the emerging arrangements will among other things convert Ebute-Meta to trucking bay where truckers will either to pick laden containers or drop empty containers.
Whereas Ebute-Meta residents have started raising eyebrow over the impending transfer of gridlocks’, there was a long stretch of heavy duty vehicles from the port to Ikorodu Road, denying other road users the use of the expressway, This prompted the Lagos State Government to order the truck operators to vacate the arena until the matter is resolved at a stakeholders’ meeting this week.
Still on the Apapa port access roads, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman had embarked on a tour of the ongoing Federal Government’s rehabilitation works on the axis.
On hand to support her on the occasion were top management of the NPA and Stakeholders at large. The tour saw the team inspect through the TinCan and Apapa locations. There entourage had some fruitful discussion with engineers of AG Dangote, handling the repairs who assured on timely delivery of the road.
