Project aims to boost regional trade, support farmers and reconnect Southwest states to Nigeria’s national rail network…
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has announced plans to revive the Osogbo–Dagbolu–Erunmu and Idogo railway corridors as part of a new partnership with the Southwest Development Commission (SWDC).
In a statement released via its official X handle on Thursday, the NRC said the collaboration is designed to enhance freight operations across the region, enabling the movement of agricultural produce from rural communities to markets in Lagos and transporting consumer goods back to interior towns.
SWDC Managing Director, Charles Diji Akinola, said the commission is prioritising the revitalisation of these old rail routes because of their strategic importance in strengthening regional trade and improving food distribution channels.
According to Akinola, the commission’s short-term plan includes taking over some of the currently unserved rail lines on a profit-sharing arrangement, alongside subsidy support aimed at easing transport costs for farmers and boosting agricultural output.
He added that the medium-term objectives involve securing operational and track access licences for new corridors, attracting private investors, building warehouses along the rail routes, and developing new rail spurs to link all six southwestern states to the national rail grid.
“The SWDC Managing Director, Charles Diji Akinola, had earlier said the Commission was fired by the extensive work of DAWN in the area of infrastructure and rail transportation development in the six states of the southwest, adding that regional rail connectivity is key to the economic revitalisation of the southwest,” part of the NRC statement read.
Akinola emphasised that the plan draws on earlier groundwork laid by the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission, which had developed masterplans for a coordinated regional rail network.
NRC Managing Director, Kayode Opeifa, reaffirmed the corporation’s commitment to partnering with the SWDC, federal agencies, and private investors through initiatives such as the Track Access Programme and Railing With the States, which allow sub-national bodies to utilise federal rail assets.
He disclosed that NRC directors have already been directed to work closely with the SWDC technical team to develop the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) required to kick-start operations on the targeted routes.
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