South-West Development Commission Secures Provisional Rail Licence to Drive Regional Connectivity

The South-West Development Commission (SWDC) has obtained a provisional rail operating and track access licence from the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), clearing the way for the commission to launch passenger and freight rail services on existing corridors across the region. The move is being framed as a critical step toward strengthening regional connectivity and accelerating economic transformation in the Southwest.

The licence does not authorise the construction of new rail lines. Instead, it permits the SWDC to operate services on the narrow and standard gauge networks that already link communities, businesses, industrial hubs and economic centres in the zone. It also underpins the rollout of the South-West Rail, Agro-Industrial and Logistics (SW-RAIL) Platform, a regional initiative designed to improve logistics competitiveness, unlock agro-industrial growth, enhance mobility and drive economic development across Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states.

Speaking with journalists in Ibadan on Thursday, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the SWDC, Dr. Charles ‘Diji’ Akinola, described the licence as a transition from planning to execution.

“This licence is not just a document. It is the green light to rebuild the Southwest’s economic spine on rail,” Akinola said. “We are moving from plans to tracks, from talk to trains. Our partnership with the NRC will put freight on rails, people on trains, and opportunity back into the hands of businesses and communities across the South West.”

Akinola explained that the SW-RAIL Platform is being developed as a rail-anchored economic corridor integrating freight systems, agro-logistics, industrial parks, inland logistics hubs, cold-chain infrastructure, port connectivity, passenger mobility systems and transit-oriented developments.

He noted that the Southwest, while being Nigeria’s largest economic bloc, continues to face significant logistics bottlenecks, rising freight costs, congestion and supply chain inefficiencies.

“The Southwest has enormous economic potential, but transportation inefficiencies continue to increase the cost of doing business. Rail provides an opportunity to address these challenges in a more integrated, scalable, and sustainable way,” he stated.

The initiative is expected to reduce logistics costs, improve freight efficiency, strengthen agricultural market access, boost export competitiveness, expand industrial activity, improve passenger mobility and create jobs across multiple sectors.

By operating directly on NRC corridors, the commission aims to offer manufacturers, farmers, exporters, fast-moving consumer goods companies and logistics operators a more reliable alternative to road haulage, easing pressure on major highways and cutting delays in the movement of goods and people.

Improved rail integration is also expected to strengthen connectivity between the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports and key industrial, agricultural and commercial hubs across the Southwest. Agricultural produce and manufactured goods will move more efficiently between production centres, markets, warehouses and export terminals, while corridor-based economic zones are projected to stimulate investment, warehousing, agro-processing and small business growth.

Akinola said the implementation model would be partnership-driven and open to collaboration with state governments, private investors, logistics operators and international infrastructure partners.

The rail initiative is the latest flagship regional transformation programme from the SWDC, following the launch of TransComs, a cluster-based development model focused on transforming rural communities into integrated economic hubs through agriculture, housing, enterprise development, logistics and youth employment.

Together, both initiatives form part of the commission’s broader vision of building a more connected, productive and economically integrated Southwest region under what it calls a “One Bloc Economy” framework.