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By Emmanuel Adeleke
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has begun the construction of underground pass and overhead bridges at the 11 level crossings across Lagos State to avoid accidents.
The Managing Director of NRC, Mr Fidet Okhiria, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Lagos, on Tuesday.
He said the corporation had started separating road from rail in Oyingbo and Ebute-Metta, adding that it had constructed an underground pass and an overhead pass at the Agege level crossing.
“We are going to have 11 flyovers within Lagos and we cannot do all at the same time, we are constructing them in batches.
“Before now, we constructed barriers and they were vandalised; we even constructed automatic barriers which were also vandalised.
“Although we have been repairing them, especially the automatic barriers, they do not last for a week after such repairs.
“It is either they hit the barriers with vehicles or people vandalise them overnight,” Okhiria said.
He noted that the NRC management was planning to employ gatemen to stop vehicles and avoid accidents while passing through the level crossings, stressing that the corporation will deploy men and technology to alert road users whenever trains are approaching the level crossings.
The managing director noted that all over the world, people obey simple traffic regulations, but in Nigeria motorists usually violates traffic signs.
He urged motorists to be more careful while passing through level crossings and reminded them that life had no duplicate.