3MB CLOSURE; LAGOSIANS TURN TO THE RAIL AND WATERWAYS

The railways and water ways in Lagos have witnessed increased traffic as commuters take to these alternative means of transportation following the traffic snarls that have occurred as a result of the partial closure of the Third Mainland Bridge for repairs. At various ferry and railway terminals in the state, the trains and boats were filled to the brim as early as 5am as Lagos residents moved to their respective places of work and business. The Ijoko and Agbado terminals of the Mass Transit Train Service (MTTS) of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), which usually cater to hundreds of passengers per day, were overwhelmed by the increased traffic. NRC operates six shuttles in the morning and six in the evening, with each shuttle being filled to capacity by passengers. The already congested coaches groaned at their seams as more passengers struggled to sit on the roofs cling to the sides of the coaches. Following this development, some of the commuters urged the management of the NRC to provide more locomotives and coaches especially during the partial closure of the Third Mainland Bridge. Olayemi Animashun, a civil servant, said that the train service had been turned to a dangerous venture as more passengers now risk their lives hanging to whatever they could hold all through the trip. “The NRC management should come to the commuters’ aid before lives are lost,” he said.