The Nigerian Railway Corporation has rolled out a free train ride initiative to serve an estimated 340,000 passengers during the festive season.
As part of the Federal Government’s palliative efforts, the program aims to provide relief to Nigerians travelling across major routes, ensuring seamless and affordable transport throughout the Yuletide period.
The Acting Managing Director of the NRC, Ben Iluanosi, spoke at Kubwa Station on Friday after the first successful round of free rides.
“Today is the first free ride of the initiatives, the palliatives set by the federal government.”
He assured Nigerians that the NRC is committed to the program’s success.
“We will enforce the free train ride. We’ll make it happen and ensure it goes successfully. Glory be to God, it was successful today. Everybody boarded, those with tickets first, and those without tickets were profiled, their ID cards checked, and they boarded. The important thing is that we were able to board every passenger free of charge,” Iluanosi explained.
Iluanosi detailed the scale of the initiative, saying, “We have an average of 20,000 passengers every day that will ride the train free of charge. So approximately, we are going to carry about 340,000 passengers over the period.”
The routes include Abuja-Kaduna, Lagos-Ibadan, Port Harcourt-Aba, Lagos Mass Transit, and Warri-Itape. This morning, all the routes went seamlessly.
Addressing concerns about ticketing and crowd control, Iluanosi encouraged passengers to plan.
“The passengers boarded, those with tickets and those without tickets. The ones without tickets were profiled. What I want to appeal to Nigerians and our passengers is the federal government has brought out this good initiative.
“Let us please enjoy it in an orderly manner. As I speak today, as I speak now, the portals are open. Tickets for tomorrow are still available.
“I encourage all Nigerians that want to travel, first of all, make your travel plans early. Book online. The tickets are available.
He noted that the NRC has also implemented measures to prevent abuse of the free service.
“Okay, so we’ve beefed up our security. Some of you that were here at Kubwa with me, would admit that you noticed the presence of extra security. In terms of the solution itself, we’ve also improved on buying tickets.
“So for instance, you are unable to buy more than two tickets at a time. So we’ve managed to put that in place to ensure that people don’t buy multiple and multiple tickets at the same time. We are trying in terms of crowd control.
“You are unable to buy more than two tickets at a time to ensure people don’t hoard tickets. We’ve beefed up security, and extra personnel are on the ground to ensure orderliness,” Iluanosi noted.
On concerns about the e-ticketing system, Iluanosi admitted there were challenges but noted improvements. “A lot of these things are network-driven. We’ve improved our e-ticketing solution and made it faster. If you’re having problems booking, contact our support centre. The telephone numbers are on our portal,” he said.
The free train rides will continue until January 4 or 5, 2024, with further updates to be announced by the NRC.
