Train
South-West Dev. Commission secures NRC rail operating licence, to launch passenger, freight services across region’s corridors
The South West Development Commission (SWDC) has obtained a provisional rail operating and track access licence from the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), allowing it to run passenger and freight services on existing rail corridors throughout the Southwest.
The licence does not cover building new lines but focuses on operating trains on networks already linking communities, businesses, industrial hubs, and economic centres in the region.
The authorisation permits SWDC to operate on both narrow and standard gauge networks, supporting the launch of the South-West Rail, Agro-Industrial & Logistics (SW-RAIL) Platform.
This regional initiative aims to boost logistic competitiveness, unlock agro-industrial growth, enhance mobility, and speed up economic development across Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, and Ekiti states.
Speaking with reporters in Ibadan, SWDC Managing Director/CEO, Dr. Charles ‘Diji’ Akinola, called the licence a shift from planning to implementation.
“This licence is not just a document. It is the green light to rebuild the Southwest’s economic spine on rail. We are moving from plans to tracks, from talk to trains. Our partnership with the NRC will put freight on rails, people on trains, and opportunity back into the hands of businesses and communities across the South West,” he said.
Akinola explained that the SW-RAIL Platform is being developed as a rail-anchored economic corridor, integrating freight systems, agro-logistics, industrial parks, inland logistics hubs, cold-chain infrastructure, port connectivity, passenger mobility systems, and transit-oriented developments.
He noted that despite being Nigeria’s largest economic bloc, the Southwest continues to struggle with major logistic bottlenecks, rising freight costs, congestion, and supply chain inefficiencies.
“The Southwest has enormous economic potential, but transportation inefficiencies continue to increase the cost of doing business. Rail provides an opportunity to address these challenges in a more integrated, scalable, and sustainable way,” he said.
The initiative is expected to cut logistics costs, improve freight efficiency, strengthen agricultural market access, boost export competitiveness, expand industrial activity, enhance passenger mobility, and create jobs across multiple sectors.
By operating directly on NRC corridors, SWDC aims to offer manufacturers, farmers, exporters, fast-moving consumer goods companies, and logistics operators a reliable alternative to road haulage, easing pressure on major highways and reducing delays in moving goods and people.
Improved rail integration will strengthen connectivity between Apapa and Tin Can ports and key industrial, agricultural, and commercial hubs across the Southwest.
Agricultural produce and manufactured goods will move more efficiently between production centres, markets, warehouses, and export terminals, while corridor-based economic zones are expected to attract investment, warehousing, agro-processing, and small business growth.
Akinola stated that the implementation model will be partnership-driven, open to collaboration with state governments, private investors, logistics operators, and international infrastructure partners.
This rail initiative follows SWDC’s earlier launch of TransComs, a cluster-based development model that transforms rural communities into integrated economic hubs through agriculture, housing, enterprise development, logistics, and youth employment.
Together, both programmes form part of the commission’s broader vision of building a more connected, productive, and economically integrated Southwest region under a “One Bloc Economy” framework.
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