Lagos – Some passengers of the Mass Transit Train Service (MTTS) of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) on Tuesday decried congestion of the coaches.

The passengers who  in Lagos, urged the NRC to provide more coaches to accommodate the commuters.

A trader, Mrs Foluke Amao noted that the coaches were more congested in the morning and at night.

Amao said that riding in the train at those periods could be compared with riding in a `molue’ bus.

“I pity people the way they hang on the door of the train at the detriment of their lives because they can’t be patient to wait for the next one,” she said.

A civil servant, Mrs Emmanuella Okonkwo told NAN that the lack of air conditioning and fans in the train worsened commuters’ discomfort.

“On two occasions, I almost collapsed in the business class I boarded from Agege to Iddo because it was overcrowded and the air conditioners were not working.

“Fans in the economy class are also bad,” Okonkwo said.

Mr Olamilekan Banjo, a civil servant said that she still used the train, in spite of the discomfort because the distance between her home and her place of work was much.

“My office is on Lagos Island and I live in Agbado; I drop my car at home to board the train because of traffic congestion but the overcrowded coaches are not helping matters,” Banjo said.

Reacting, the Lagos Railway District Manager, Mr John Dottie, said that the NRC management was planning to refurbish more coaches in a bid to redress the congestion.

“We are aware that the number of passengers is increasing and that the number of coaches is not increasing with the same ratio.

“On our own part, we are trying to see if we can refurbish more coaches to increase the length of the train,” Dottie said.  (NAN)