LAGOS GOES TOUGH ON ILLEGAL TRAIN PASSENGERS

Lagos State
Government,in collaboration with the management of Nigeria Railway Corporation,
NRC, has set machinery in motion to curb the menace of passengers hanging on
train in the state.

Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode
Opeifa, spoke after a brief meeting with the management of NRC, led by its
Managing Director, Engineer Adeseyi Sijuwade, in Alausa, yesterday.

He said the partnership would also tackle all
issues that posed security challenges along the various rail routes through a
special task force to be set up to ensure success of the exercise.

He listed the challenges to include, incessant
hanging of passengers on the train, street trading and encroachment by members
of road transport workers on the rail line.

He said: “We have been fully briefed and you
need to appreciate the fact that we don’t want people hanging on the train. We
have also learnt from the rail way Police Command that these people that hang
on the train are tough and they also avoid arrest.”

Opeifa said the government was also mindful of
how the railway police carry out enforcement to avoid fatalities, stressing
that all the stakeholders involved would be mobilised to ensure that the menace
is stopped headlong.