Following the launch of the Lagos-Ibadan standard guauge service two months ago, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has failed to meets its target of 90 cargo haulage trips monthly.
The failure has been attributed to importers, freight forwarders and Customs agents’ refusal to utilize rail service due to double handling charges from the loading terminal at Apapa port, to the rail service cost and the terminal offloading in Ibadan.
According to reports, after the arrival of the Lagos-Ibadan cargo train at Apapa Port with a sizeable number of export units of containers on October 29, from Moniya in Ibadan, return to Ibadan has been impossible because of inabundant import units of containers to transport.
Speaking with the National Coordinator of the Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders, Importers and Exporters Coalition (SNFFIEC), Osita Chukwu Patrick, he said the unseriousness of the rail service providers was a problem, emphasizing that the services are not readily available.
He stressed that although people were ready to utilize the rail service, the cost incurred on demurrage while waiting to access service, as well as the additional time before they leave for Ibadan was detrimental to their businesses, especially in cases where Ibadan was not the final destination.
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“The rail is not consistent, but when you give it to a truck, it will reach Ibadan today. This is what necessitated the nonpatronage. The cost of moving cargos via rail is expensive. You pay for terminal, demurrage, and other sundry charges. Using rail, you use over N400,000, but with truck to Ibadan, it’s just N250,000,” he said.
According to an unnamed source from NRC, the double handling charges involved is not by NRC, but the APM terminals from the point of loading and offloading in Lagos and Ibadan respectively.
He said, “There are problems. When you want to move goods by rail, it is not NRC that charges, there is a degree of double handling charges involved. APM Terminal will charge for loading onto the wagon, NRC will charge for moving from Lagos to Ibadan, the terminal at Ibadan will offload the wagon and charge for that, then to load it onto the truck to the destination, they charge for it. All these charges now add up and when you compare those charges to transporting directly by road, it is cheaper to go by road”.
He, however said the NRC was actively to engage various stakeholders in the supply chain on reduction of charges to compete with cargo transportation via roads.
