Opeifa pledges more commitment to inclusive train services

The Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation Dr Kayode Opeifa has pledged the commitment of the Corporation to inclusive services that would see more persons with disabilities being able to use the train wih some comfort.

He made this known recently at the Babatunde Fashola Train Station, Agege, when a passenger living with disability, Mr Olatunji Yusuf, lamented the struggle he went through using the intercity train because of the faulty elevator at the station.

Yusuf, who was on a wheelchair, recounted that three hefty men had to carry him through the staircase to the platform to enable him enter the train adding “I had to pay these men, who left what they were doing just to help me into the station and into the train.”

Opeifa, who felt the pain that people living with disabilities had to go through in assessing public infrastructure, apologized for the failure of the elevator, and directed that such conveniences must be kept working for the benefit of challenged passengers in all train stations across the country.

He equally assured all Nigerians of the readiness of the corporation to improve the quality of its services. He spoke as he commenced an inspection tour of all the railway districts under him.

At the Iddo Train Station, he said the corporation would look into restoring an afternoon train service to reduce the strain especially on traders who had complained that they spent almost the whole day at the station any day they had to come to the market, because of lack of afternoon trains.

He also said he would look into installing air conditioning units and generally improve the ambience of the coaches, to encourage more passengers to use the train. He directed some of the coaches to be fitted with solar panels to power cooling systems in the train.

“The NRC Management being aware of the centrality of the MTT Kajola to Iddo rail to the continued prosperity of the Iddo, Idumota and other major big markets on Lagos Island will not only continue to sustain the line, but work to add additional service after careful commercial market viability and sustainability studies are done,” Opeifa said.

He assured that the corporation would urgently embark on a facelift of all the stations to improve passenger’s travel experience even as he directed a review of all land leases around the Iddo Station in line with the mandate to optimize the station.

Opeifa called on corporate and other individual philanthropists to partner with the corporation in improving the travel experience of railway passengers by donating conveniences such as benches, lightings, or the construction of toilet facilities at the stations as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility.