South West Development Commission Secures Provisional Rail Licence for Regional Freight and Passenger Services
The South West Development Commission (SWDC) has obtained a provisional rail operating and track access licence from the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), clearing the way for the launch of passenger and freight rail services across the Southwest’s existing rail corridors.
The licence does not authorise the construction of new rail lines. It grants the Commission the right to operate services on the region’s current narrow and standard gauge networks, which already link communities, industrial hubs, and commercial centres across the zone.
The approval underpins the rollout of the South-West Rail, Agro-Industrial and Logistics (SW-RAIL) Platform, a regional initiative designed to improve logistics competitiveness, unlock agro-industrial growth, expand mobility, and accelerate economic development in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, and Ekiti states.
Speaking to journalists in Ibadan yesterday, SWDC Managing Director and CEO, Dr. Charles ‘Diji’ Akinola, described the milestone as a decisive move from planning to execution.
“This licence is not just a document. It is the green light to rebuild the Southwest’s economic spine on rail,” Akinola said. “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 Southwest.”
The SW-RAIL Platform is being developed as a rail-anchored economic corridor that integrates freight systems, agro-logistics, industrial parks, inland logistics hubs, cold-chain infrastructure, port connectivity, passenger mobility systems, and transit-oriented developments.
Akinola noted that while the Southwest remains Nigeria’s largest economic bloc, the region continues to grapple with significant logistics 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,” he said. “Rail provides an opportunity to address these challenges in a more integrated, scalable, and sustainable way.”
The initiative is expected to lower logistics costs, improve freight efficiency, expand agricultural market access, boost export competitiveness, stimulate industrial activity, enhance passenger mobility, and generate employment across multiple sectors.
By operating directly on NRC corridors, the Commission aims to give manufacturers, farmers, exporters, FMCG companies, and logistics operators a reliable alternative to road haulage. The shift is projected to ease pressure on major highways and cut delays in moving goods and people.
Stronger rail integration will improve connectivity between the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports and key industrial, agricultural, and commercial hubs in the Southwest. Agricultural produce and manufactured goods are expected to move more efficiently between production centres, markets, warehouses, and export terminals, while corridor-based economic zones are positioned to attract investment in warehousing, agro-processing, and SME growth.
Akinola said the implementation model would be partnership-driven and open to collaboration with state governments, private investors, logistics operators, and international infrastructure partners.
The rail initiative follows the launch of TransComs, SWDC’s cluster-based development model aimed at transforming 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 a more connected, productive, and economically integrated Southwest under its “One Bloc Economy” framework.