Lagos Train Accidents Stir Concern
CONCERN has been raised over
incidences of train accidents in the
Agege area of Lagos state and the
negligence of officials of the Nigerian
Railway Corporation (NRC).
Two separate accidents were recorded at
the Pen Cinema railroad crossing in
August alone. The first (August 10) was a
collision said to have happened around
8:45pm between a train and a haulage
trailer and in which two people died. The
driver of the trailer had attempted to
move across the rail, not heeding the
hooting of the approaching train. Two
persons who had hung illegally on the
train fell off and died immediately.
A second accident occurred a week after
(August 16) when two trains collided,
also killing two. Another person
sustained serious injuries. Again, the
victims were passengers on rooftop.
According to the Managing Director of
the Corporation, Mr. Adeseyi Sijuwade, a
panel of inquiry was set up to
investigate the cause of the tragedies.
The Guardian observed, however, that on
several occasions, NRC officials failed to
erect barricades across the track, despite
receiving signals from oncoming trains.
It was also noticed that several times
when vehicular traffic encroaches on the
rail, especially during gridlocks, train
drivers are forced to apply the brakes to
prevent disaster.
Madam Debora Okikiolu, who witnessed
one of the accidents, blamed impatient
motorists for ignoring train signals. She
explained that often, vehicles attempting
a quick dash across the track get stuck in
the process. She said such incidents
could have been avoided had officials
woken up to their responsibilities,
deploying barricades and enforcing
rules.
One passenger, who didn’t want his
name mentioned, told The Guardian that
serious accidents, nevertheless, have
been averted in the last few months due
to the vigilance of train drivers and NRC
officials. He regretted that motorists,
especially commercial bus operators, are
in the habit of flouting traffic rules as a
result of impatience and recklessness,
and that with such disposition, NRC
officials can do little to keep them from
impending danger.
The Lagos District Public Relations
Officer, Khadijat Adekomaiya, said
safety is crucial to the NRC, a reason it
stationed personnel who run shifts at
crossings. She explained that the role of
these workers is to pull down a barrier
across the track whenever a train was
approaching.
“These things are mechanical and could,
sometimes, break down. Every day,
however, our engineering team goes
round to observe any of the barriers that
are damaged. The problem is that we are
in a country where people do not care
about public properties. That is the
reason these facilities are vandalized
often. Also, sometimes, drivers do not
comply with rules requiring them to
keep off the tracks, especially at
crossings. Even when officers at the
crossings ask them to stop, many drivers
do not obey.”
According to her, when drivers violate
the rule and flee, the officers report the
cases to the police for prosecution. “They
are required to pay a fine. And when
they are apprehended at the scene they
are handed over to the police for
prosecution,” she said.
Asked whether her organization has
become helpless in checkmating people
who sit on train tops and hang on doors,
Adekomaiya disagreed. She said that
besides enlightenment campaigns
warning that persons who engage in
such endanger their lives, the
Corporation’s task force set up to ensure
compliance has arrested many offenders.
She disclosed that rather than have a
change of heart, the offenders would
return the following and day and repeat
the same.
“We had a raid recently by the task
force. It comprised the police, Man O
War and the NRC staff. There were about
200 illegal passengers riding on our
train. We were able to nab over 50 and
handed them over to the Police.
The continuity of the illegality is not
because of our inconsistency in raiding
the offenders. Though we acknowledge
the need for more coaches, the reality is
that as a public entity, available facilities
are insufficient for all that are interested
in using them.
“It should be noted that we cannot,
single-handedly, take the decision, as a
publicly owned corporation, to get
additional coaches, because we report to
the Ministry of Transport, and I think
the federal government is looking at how
to continue with what the previous
government has done to improve the
railway system.
“The NRC for a long time was moribund
but now we run 14 trips a day. This
means we carry over 9000 passengers.
We also now move containers and
petroleum products to different parts of
Nigeria. We know there is room for
growth.”
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