When the federal government announced the free train ride for Nigerians from the Christmas period to a few days after New Year, it was greeted with enthusiasm because of the hassles and difficulties of the yuletide period.
The free service was to be enjoyed by Nigerians between December 24, 2021, and January 4th, 2022 on all the major routes being operated by the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) across the country.
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It covers all the standard gauge and narrow gauge services of the NRC across its network to help the movement of Nigerians during the festive period as well as ease the cost of transportation during the period.
The Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) announced that: “All the passenger trains on both standard and narrow gauge lines which include Abuja to Kaduna, Lagos to Ibadan, Warri to Itakpe, Kano to Lagos, Minna to Kaduna, and Aba to Port Harcourt routes are now all free from today; December 24th, 2021 to January 4th, 2022 inclusive.”
Travellers lauded the initiative. They however condemned its alleged racketeering and sale of the free tickets at exorbitant prices by some unscrupulous elements.
They claimed to have been subjected to hardships and spent more than when the train was not free.
The Abuja-Kaduna train route is unarguably one of the busiest and has witnessed passenger traffic as the free travel lasts.
Persistent attacks by bandits on the Abuja-Kaduna highway had forced many travellers to abandon the highway and patronise the Abuja-Kaduna train service.
This has put more strain on the train as the numbers of travellers are on the increase daily.
With the announcement by the federal government of providing free rides for one week on the Abuja-Kaduna train, many commuters welcomed the development and commended the government for having the interest of the people at heart.
Daily Trust correspondent in Kaduna gathered that since the beginning of the free train service, touts, railway workers, cab drivers working at the station and others allegedly booked all the tickets as early as 1: am which made tickets become scarce for passengers.
The same thing was witnessed on all the other routes leading to arrests of some NRC officials and other elements involved in the ticket racketeering, exploration and other infractions that marred the initiative.
Desperate passengers who were unable to secure the free tickets on the NRC e-ticket platform were forced to buy from these racketeers between N2000 and N8000.
A railway worker who spoke on condition of anonymity said it was the number of families and others who came to the Kaduna and Abuja train stations to benefit from the free ride that caused the scarcity of tickets.
“The past one week had been the most difficult for us because we were unable to control the crowd and ascertain who and who boards the train because one, passengers were not willing to listen to us and, two, many of them had no luggage as they just plied the train for the fun of it and the fact that it is at no cost,” he said.
He said if only passengers with a genuine reason for travelling plied the train, the hardship experienced would not have taken place as there would not have been so much hardship and congestion of the trains.
Our correspondent who visited the Rigasa station however observed that there were no checks at the entrance by either NRC staff or security personnel, a scenario which could allow criminals to easily board the train with weapons.
It was observed that many passengers were standing in the train as it was full to capacity because of the free ride.
It was also observed that many of the passengers did not really have a reason for travelling but since the rides were free, they decided to ply the train from the Kaduna to Abuja trip and back for the fun of it.
A commuter, Sunday Amos, who was about to board the 10.30am train from Kaduna said he had never been on the train because it was too expensive for him and decided to take the opportunity of the free ride to go on the train.
He said: “Since this train commenced, it has been my dream to travel on it but because the fares were too high for me coupled with the fact that you have to pay a lot to transport from Sabo to the station, I have been unable to fulfil my dream.
“I am however extremely happy for the free ride gesture given by the government because at least, I am only paying for transportation from my house. I don’t really have anything I want to do in Abuja; I just want to experience the train.”
Amos said he came to the Rigasa station as early as 7am to get a space on the 10.30am train.
He added: “I was reliably informed that if one does not come early, he will have to buy the ticket at high prices; that is why I came early.”
While Sunday Amos was happy with the gesture, Malam Mohammed Yunusa said he was forced to buy a ticket from Idu to Rigasa at N8, 000.
Malam Mohammed who works in Abuja said he decided to travel back to Kaduna a day after Christmas thinking by then, the rush would have been over and he would easily secure a free ticket but he was forced to buy a ticket for N8, 000 from one of the touts at Idu train station.
He said the other option was to stand, adding that, “For me in my early 50’s, I don’t think it is possible to stand for two or more hours.”
He lamented the unethical practices of ticket racketeering at the train stations and the sale of the free tickets by unscrupulous elements including railway workers at the stations.
He urged the federal government to find a permanent solution to racketeering in the country’s railway stations.
Another traveller, Hindatu Salisu, said she stood from Kaduna to Abuja on December 28th, 2021 at the 10.30am trip because there were no seats.
She said: “My brother had to beg some men who were standing by one of the doors on the train to allow me to come on board as they said the train was full. When I got inside, I just found one corner and stood there. It was not easy.”
She however noted that while coming back from Abuja to Kaduna on January 2nd, 2022, the trip was easier since she boarded from Idu station.
She added: “By the time the train got to Kubwa, it was a case of showing me your power as passengers fought their way into the train.”
It was further gathered that some passengers travelling from Rigasa to Abuja on January 2nd, 2021 paid N2, 000 for tickets even though the one-week free train ride was still on.
One of the affected passengers, Hannatu Yakubu, said: “I paid N2, 000 for my train ticket on Sunday for the 3.55pm ride.
“I know the FG had declared free train rides till January 4th, but I tried to book a ticket online for two days to no avail, that is why I decided to buy the ticket.”
Another passenger who bought the ticket at N2, 000 said, “After buying my ticket, when I got on the train, I discovered that someone had occupied my seat, claiming the train was free.
“It took the effort of the security personnel on board to get the man out of my seat because I was not about to stand after paying for a seat that is free.”
Huge passenger traffic on Lagos-Ibadan route
In Lagos, many passengers including those who used it for fun took advantage of the free services until it lasted.
The Lagos-Ibadan trains were always full to the brim during the free rides with many people even unable to get into the train.
The NRC increased the train movement on the route to eight daily movements with each of the trains carrying more than 500 passengers.
According to the analysis by our correspondent, no fewer than 30,000 passengers boarded the LITS alone within the period of the free rides.
An NRC official who spoke to our reporter said: “It was a tough time during the Christmas and New Year period as a lot of people trooped in for the train rides. Many people who had not experienced a train ride in Nigeria before also took advantage of the free service.”
When our correspondent visited the Babatunde Raji Fashola Train Station, Agege, he saw many passengers stranded as the train coming from Mobolaji Johnson Station had already been filled up.
One of the passengers, Mr Oniyide, said, “I am very upset at them (the officials). I have asked for the Station Manager, I can’t get anybody to talk to. We need better customer service.
“We got here; we were not getting the right information. We don’t have a ticket. We got in here; we were told it is free. I don’t bloody care, I am ready to pay. About an hour later, they came out and said we should all come out and get a tally.
“After that, we started hearing that the train that would take us was not coming on time. We came here to take a train, a scheduled departure of 4:25; someone should have been here to tell us the situation.
“I have been here for two hours. This is my second time but this is the first time I am taking this free ride. Because it is free, you think we can be mistreated. Who wants a free service anyway?”
Another passenger, Mr Kolawole Samson, who travelled from Ibadan with his children yesterday morning, commended the federal government for the gesture.
He said: “I boarded the train this morning from Ibadan to Lagos. I came with my children. The experience in the morning was okay. Everything was in order. We really enjoyed the trip. We didn’t pay any money. We really appreciate the government for that. You can see how people are trooping in.”
Speaking with our correspondent on Monday, the NRC Regional District Manager, Engr. Jerry Oche, said he never expected the turnout which he described as very impressive, adding that, “It shows that people are really embracing the railway.”
He said: “Till today, which is the last day, there were so many people and in fact with one of the trains I went to monitor, we left some people.
“We couldn’t carry everybody because despite that the train was free; we still issued tickets to people so that we don’t have people standing. We didn’t want to go beyond our capacity.
“As of my last check, the figure was over 18,000 between December 24th and January 4th, we carried over 18,000 people excluding the people from Abeokuta.”
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