A passenger was killed and another broke his legs while rushing to
board a moving train at Agbado train station in Agbado, Ogun State on
Monday. The two separate accidents were linked with the Ijoko-Lagos Mass Transit
Trains services of the Nigeria Railway Corporation.
Newsmen reports that the mangled body of the dead victim was pulled out from
the wheels of the and overcrowded train and placed beside the rail
track, while the man with a broken leg was taken to a nearby hospital.
Eyewitnesses told Newsmen that the two victims slipped and fell off while trying to board the moving train.
“The man that died rushed to board the train while in motion. He would
have succeeded but was blocked by passengers hanging at the entrance,” a
witness said.
Regular train passengers blamed the accidents on overcrowding and the
attitude of passengers who blocked the entrance of the coaches,
preventing other passengers from boarding.
An NRC official, who pleaded anonymity, told Newsmen at Agbado station that
the incidents had been reported to the NRC headquarters at Ebute Meta
for proper action.
Newsmen reports that the railway police command had warned passengers
against hanging on moving trains, saying that offenders would be charged
with attempted suicide. Meanwhile, a trader at Agbado station, Mrs Ronke Ogunlade, has appealed
to the NRC to increase the number of shuttle services and attach more
coaches to trains on the route.
“The number of passengers on this route is increasing on daily basis; I
think more shuttles and more coaches would solve the problem,” she said. She said that people would continue to hang on the train because there
were not enough coaches for the ever-increasing number of passengers on
the route.
