- Container transfer from Apapa to Ebutte-Metta may work but…
With effect from Monday, Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) will fully commence container transfer from the Apapa Port in Lagos to its Ebute-Metta Junction (EBJ) station. If well managed, the arrangement will ease the traffic gridlock that has become a permanent feature on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway. Needless to say, it will also boost the revenue of the corporation, thereby putting it in a better stead to finance its operations. The corporation is presently doing skeletal movement of containers from the port to the station.
NRC’s Director of Operations, Mr Niyi Alli, who briefed newsmen on the development said: “We have started container shuttle services. We intend to run a number of dedicated trains into the port and bring out containers to Ebute-Metta with the intention to help decongest the ports.
“When the initiative finally comes on stream, we shall be running about three trains a day, each carrying about 20, 40 feet containers just to relieve the congestion at the port. This was done by NRC initiative to bring succour to Lagos residents.”
Shuttle services from the port to the corporation ought to have been a continuous thing over the years. But, somehow, the rail lines were abandoned and road transportation became the only mode of moving containers from the ports to their respective destinations. It was only a matter of time for the adverse effects of this to be felt. Lagosians, particularly those with businesses in the Apapa axis, as well as those who have one reason or the other to go there soon began to dread the place as a result of its often chaotic traffic situation, which appears to have defied the palliative measures put in place by successive governments. Even the expressway literally became a victim, as it began to collapse under the weight of the heavy duty trucks plying it with containers of imported items and fuel from the ports. What usually started as potholes over time metastasized to craters on the road with many trucks usually getting stuck in them.
This has been the experience for years until a few weeks ago when the Federal Government awarded the contract of the Apapa-Oworonshoki Expressway to the Dangote Group. This has more or less compounded the traffic situation in Apapa because, as some people would say, sometimes some things have to get bad to get better.
It would appear the rehabilitation of the road was the eye opener that the NRC needed to commence the new experience whose impact will hopefully be better felt from this week when the new scheme becomes fully operational. Jerry Oche, Lagos Railway District Manager (RDM) said in an interview that “Another major activity is the ongoing road construction in Apapa that has created more challenges for the commuters. Because of that, we had to look inward to see what we could do. “
Expectedly, freight forwarders and importers are already buying into this idea. But, beyond that, and commendable as the initiative is, we must warn that careful planning is essential in making it work without a transference of the traffic congestion from Apapa to Ebute-Metta. It is clear the rehabilitation of the road will amount to nothing if there are no alternative means of moving goods from the ports to their destinations. But we do not have to create more problems while trying to solve one.
We are happy that the railways have already liaised with the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), to ensure effective management of traffic along Murtala Muhammed Way in Lagos. There should be stiff penalties for importers who fail to take away their containers within the stipulated two hours because that is one way to ensure a disciplined and seamless operation. It is important for the corporation to get it right so that it can move to the next level of having similar bays at Ijoko, to serve importers in the Abeokuta, Sagamu and Agbara axis, and Dagbolu, an Ibadan, Oyo State capital suburb.
Ultimately, the idea should be to get the train service to all parts of the country. Even then, the government must consider dredging the ports in other parts of the country to enable ships from abroad berth there with their cargoes. This is the only way to end the nightmares on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway and ensure stress-free movement of goods into and from the country.
