The Nigerian Railway Company (NRC) and APM Terminals Apapa have formally relaunched the Apapa-Ibadan normal gauge rail service for container transportation, marking a significant milestone in Nigeria’s logistics sector.
The brand new service operates between the Lagos Port Complicated in Apapa and the NRC Freight Yard in Moniya, Ibadan, Oyo State, providing a extra environment friendly, cost-effective, and environmentally pleasant various to highway transportation.
Talking on the launch, NRC Managing Director, Dr. Kayode Opeifa, highlighted the longstanding collaboration between NRC and APM Terminals in shifting container visitors throughout Nigeria, beforehand using the narrow-gauge line to Kaduna and Kano.
He famous that container transportation on the brand new normal gauge rail line formally commenced in September 2023, with logistics companies like Bueno Logistics and Transco Africa Logistics among the many early adopters. He additionally revealed that two extra rail strains are nearing completion at APM Terminals Apapa, bringing the entire variety of normal gauge strains to 3.
“This milestone marks the growth of container visitors by way of normal gauge rail from APM Terminals to Moniya, Ibadan, facilitating seamless import and export operations,” Opeifa acknowledged.
The newly launched service will function on a hard and fast schedule, with prepare departures from Apapa on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Every journey will transport as much as 35 wagons, carrying both 35 forty-foot containers or 70 twenty-foot containers.
Opeifa additionally emphasised the financial influence of the initiative, stating that NRC moved 362,327 tons of containerized cargo in 2024 throughout each normal and narrow-gauge strains.
He added that the growth aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, geared toward decreasing logistics prices, bettering residing requirements, and addressing multidimensional poverty.
Chief Business Officer of APM Terminals Nigeria, Caroline Aubert-Adewuyi, highlighted previous challenges with the rail service, significantly unpredictable scheduling, that made cargo planning troublesome for purchasers.
“With our revamped service, we now supply a dependable and structured schedule, departing 3 times per week, guaranteeing environment friendly cargo motion from Apapa to Ibadan and again,” she mentioned.
She additionally introduced a simplified cost system, the place clients will now make funds solely to APM Terminals Apapa, which can deal with all essential funds to different stakeholders within the rail service provide chain.
“This initiative gives a cheap various to highway transport, serving to to alleviate the persistent visitors congestion in Apapa, which has considerably elevated logistics prices,” Aubert-Adewuyi added.
The Chief Finance Officer of APM Terminals Nigeria, Braveness Obadagbonyi, emphasised the multi-modal power of Apapa Port, integrating barge, highway, and rail transport for enhanced cargo dealing with.
“Outcomes from our 2024 fiscal yr present a 43% progress in export volumes over the past two years, underscoring the optimistic influence of our funding in rail logistics,” he acknowledged.
He reaffirmed APM Terminals’ dedication to long-term sustainability, guaranteeing the continued effectivity of the Apapa-Ibadan rail service.
The Government Secretary/CEO of the Nigerian Shippers Council, Barrister Pius Akuta, praised the collaboration between NRC and APM Terminals, recognizing rail transport as essentially the most cost-effective and most secure mode for shippers to maneuver items nationwide.
Different dignitaries current on the occasion included Port Supervisor of Lagos Port Complicated Apapa, Adebowale Lawal, in addition to representatives from the Nigeria Customs Service, the Ports Authority Police Command, importers, exporters, and different key stakeholders.
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