here was heavy human traffic at Lagos and Abuja train stations on Thursday following the Federal Government’s announcement of free rides for passengers as part of the Yuletide celebration....CONTINUE READING
In addition to the free train rides, President Bola Tinubu, also approved a 50 per cent discount for inter-state road travel, effective from December 21 to January 4, 2024.
Also, two inter-state transport companies slashed their fares as part of the agreement with the government.
A reporter who were at the Mobolaji Johnson, Lagos, and Abuja stations, confirmed that a train, designed to accommodate 648 passengers, recorded a surplus leading to some individuals standing without seats.
While standing passengers are not a regular occurrence at the station, the surge, attributed to heightened traffic, prompted this unusual situation.
Officials at the station informed reporters that a similar situation is being anticipated during Friday’s (today’s) commute.
The train service connecting Lagos to Abeokuta and Ibadan runs twice daily, departing at 8 am and 4 pm while commuters heading for Kajola could board the evening service train which departs at 6:30 pm.
“Not all the passengers who successfully booked tickets online were able to board the train to Ibadan and Abeokuta. Some couldn’t enter the train because the crowd was too much,” a ticketing officer informed The PUNCH.
The officer added, “The crowd today was massive, with expectations of even more passengers tomorrow, given the free service. No payment is required; passengers only need to book online. For those going to Kajola, they were given a ticket here.”
Before President Tinubu’s announcement, train fares from Lagos to Ibadan previously cost N3,600 for economy class; N6,500 for business class; and N9,000 for first class.
A security officer said some passengers who arrived as early as 7am faced the challenge of the overwhelming crowd.
“For those planning to travel tomorrow (today), it is advised to arrive early, ideally by 6:30 am, to cope with the anticipated large number of people,” he advised some passengers who missed the train.
Another ticketing officer told our correspondent, “If you try to book the ticket now, I am not sure it will be successful because of the huge traffic. The 8am ticket tomorrow must have been all booked by now.”
Officials confirmed that the e-ticketing platform recorded glitches due to high levels of traffic, which prevented many passengers from booking tickets.
Disgruntled passengers who failed to book tickets online left the train station disappointed, some swearing never to return.
Kudirat, who was unable to book a ticket stated, “I have been here since noon, and the stress I’ve gone through today with my baby is too much.”
Another passenger said, “I have been here for hours trying to see if I can book online but I haven’t been able to do that. They said it’s free but it’s becoming difficult to book the ticket.
“It makes me wonder how these other passengers were able to book their tickets. I will keep trying and see if I will be able to do it,” he added.
The e-ticketing platform created by the Nigeria Railway Corporation kicked off in November and customers who tried to book their tickets online at the time complained of glitches.
A station source alleged that the IT department’s manipulations rendered the platform inaccessible.
The source said, “I am beginning to suspect these guys in charge of the backend. It’s like some of them changed the password. It seems they are just booking these tickets for themselves.
“We know how these works but I won’t say much until tomorrow. All the people here have not been able to book any tickets. They have been trying it but to no avail,” he claimed.
At the time of compiling this report, numerous passengers bound for Kajola gathered at the station, anticipating the departure of another train scheduled for 6:15 pm.
Commuters affirmed that they were generously provided with free tickets for their journey.
A 60-year-old woman expressed her gratitude, stating, “Before today, passengers paid N1,600 to Kajola, but it’s free now. I didn’t even need to book; upon arriving, I walked into the ticketing hall, and the attendant handed me this ticket.
“I appreciate the government’s effort in this regard; it will certainly alleviate financial burdens.”
Around 6:45 pm, another train arrived from Abeokuta, transporting a significant number of passengers.
A university student, confirming to our correspondent, mentioned booking her ticket online without any charge.
A commuter on the Lagos-Ibadan train, Lawrence Irorosuayire, said “The directive is being upheld here. There are quite a lot of persons transiting from Ibadan to Lagos. So I asked the officials when I got here and they said yeah, it’s free. I haven’t seen this kind of population before. Even when I initially traveled into Ibadan from Lagos, last week, it wasnt this full. It isn’t usually as full as this”
Victor Adamu, the Operations Manager at NRC, stated that the fare subsidy would not affect the frequency of daily train rides.
He said, “For now, we are maintaining the same number of trips which is four trips. Two up, two down with the exception of Wednesdays which is one up, one down on Wednesday”.
‘’The only set of people who didn’t get to travel were pockets of people who came to the station and did not get the information rightly about getting their tickets online.’’
Meanwhile, two transport companies, Chisco Transport and God Is Good Motors, have begun implementation of the transport fare slash.
A GIG staffer said, “We started the implementation today. Our Abuja fare is now N25,000 instead of the N50,000 it used to be until yesterday. What we do is that, when you book, you pay the normal fare.
‘’You drop your account number, into which we refund 50 per cent of the amount paid. The refund will be paid on the day of your trip. That is, if you book for Friday’s journey on Thursday, your discount will be paid on Friday.”
