Hoodlums activities on the railway track forced train movement on the Lagos-Ibadan Railway section to temporarily stop on Saturday.
Passengers aboard the train which departed the Obafemi Awolowo Train Station in Ibadan at 8:30 am on Saturday, were said to have been forced to stop somewhere before Funmilayo Ransom Kuti, at the Papalanto area, due to the alleged removal of some components on the railway track by some vandals.
According to report, a passenger, who is a lecturer at the University of Ibadan, Dr. Feyi Leo, told newsmen that fear gripped her and other passengers, when the train was forced to stop.
Leo said the train coming from Lagos to Ibadan was also forced to stop in the opposite direction, and the two trains continued the journey after the damaged section had been fixed.
She said, “The trip was smooth and we had gone past the station at Abeokuta — moving towards Papalanto when the train stopped and reversed some few meters.
“We were upset and started asking questions. An announcement was made by the NRC official onboard that, their technicians were fixing a fault on the track, and that it would not take long.
“True to their word, we left after 20 minutes of stoppage.
Another passenger, who identified himself as Promise, said, the temporary stoppage caused panic on board the train, but added that there were armed security agents on board, and with the technicians, who fixed the damaged track.
It was gathered that a similar incident happened two times in January: the trains were forced to stop for about 35 minutes, before they continued with the journey.
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