As road transport fares have continued to rise following the recent hike in the pump price of petrol, many passengers are now patronising the railway service between Abuja and Kaduna.
City & Crime reports that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company limited (NNPCL) announced a new price regime, with NNPCL outlets selling between N855 and N897 per litre and independent marketers selling between N930 and N1,200.
Following the hike, transporters jerked up road fares by about 40 per cent.
A survey by City & Crime showed that transport fare from Abuja to Kaduna was raised to N6,000 from N3,500. In contrast, the train services that operate from the Kubwa and Idu areas of Abuja to Kaduna remained N3,600.
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When our reporter visited the train station in Kubwa yesterday, officials said that travelers now booked for all the seats a day ahead compared to some days ago when the trains used to move with virtually empty seats.
A passenger, Musa Hamza, who went to the station from the Area 1 part of Abuja yesterday, said he got disappointed as he could not secure a ticket for the trip back to Kaduna at 7am.
Hamza, who was seated with another passenger with a similar experience, added that as a result, they had opted for the afternoon train that left the station by 3pm.
Efforts to speak to the manager of the station were not successful, but a senior official who preferred to remain anonymous, said that there were efforts to introduce additional trains on the route due to high demand.
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