The South West Development Commission (SWDC) has obtained a provisional rail operating licence from the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), marking a major step toward the realisation of an integrated regional rail network in the South West.
The new licence formally empowers SWDC to begin preparations for operating regional rail services, moving the South West closer to deploying rail-based mass transit across key economic corridors. It represents a critical regulatory milestone, coming after years of technical studies, route mapping and stakeholder consultations.
This development builds directly on the extensive rail master planning work earlier pioneered by the DAWN Commission, which laid the conceptual and technical foundation for a coordinated regional rail system. By translating those plans into an operational framework, the SWDC’s latest achievement signals a decisive shift from vision to implementation.
Regional officials say the move is expected to boost connectivity between major cities and industrial hubs in the South West, ease pressure on highways, and support trade, tourism and labour mobility. With the provisional licence now in place, attention will turn to meeting technical, safety and financing requirements ahead of full operational approval and eventual commencement of rail services.
