The Nigerian Railway Corporation has notified all passengers using train service that it would stop operation due to the increasing cases of Coronavirus in the country. This was disclosed in the statement issued by NRC and seen by Nairametrics.
NRC explained that its operations would end on Monday, March 23, 2020 and that the board and management of the corporation said the decision was taken in light of the COVID-19 Pandemic, which started in Wuhan, China, before spreading to other countries globally.
The statement signed by Yakub Mahmood, the Deputy-Director Public Relations for the board management, stated that further information on passengers’ trains services will be made available in due cause to our esteemed passengers.”
Coronavirus affecting transportation: The decision by Nigerian Railway Corporation follows a global restriction and ban on transportation. Already, the air transport industry has been badly hit with the spread of Coronavirus, with flight reservations being cancelled, route being suspended and some planes being grounded.
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In Nigeria, travel agencies have already recorded 50% drop in its ticket sales and reservations for international flights. Also, A new report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has disclosed that Nigerian Aviation Industry would lose N160.58 billion in 2020, with thousands of aviation employees expected to lose their jobs due to the impact of Coronavirus on air travel businesses.
An initial report by IATA early March had projected that revenue for the air transport business in Nigeria would decline by N62.3 billion, while it would lose 853,000 in passenger volumes. However, recent disclosure has shown that the figures would double as coronavirus grip tightens on global flights.
