The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has announced that it will launch electronic ticketing (e-ticketing) on its standard gauge network next week.
The NRC’s Managing Director, Fidet Okhiria, made the announcement while fielding questions on Television Continental (TVC) on Wednesday.
Okhiria said that the last leg of the testing of the platform will be accomplished on Wednesday when it is expected to go live to a restricted number of people for last-minute glitches before it is opened to the general public.
He noted that e-ticketing will put an end to the challenges observed in the present practice where passengers must appear in person at train stations before they can obtain tickets.
According to him, e-ticketing would ensure that passengers are able to buy their train tickets at least 48 hours before their proposed departure date and this could be done from the comfort of their homes or offices.
“The e-ticketing is the way to go, it is the way to secure our money and our investments because as you buy your tickets it goes to the government coffers directly. We have it in Abuja-Kaduna and we are also going to have it at Lagos-Ibadan and Itakpe-Warri. By the end of the month, our passengers should start using it,” Okhiria said.
Okhiria also announced that the train speed on the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge will soon be increased from 40 kilometres per hour to 80 km per hour and warned all those trading on the tracks to stop forthwith as the new speed regime has taken immediate effect.
He explained that the train has operated the Lagos-Ibadan speed train at 40km/hr, since when it was commissioned in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Okhiria stated that the designed speed of the track is 150 km, adding that the corporation will not continue to shortchange itself by running the tracks at below-installed capacity.
He noted that adequate announcements would continue to be made at all the train stations at Yaba, Oshodi Agege, and all the stations within the Lagos environs to ensure that people are well educated and sensitized to avoid trading, playing or conducting any activity on the train tracks.
On the issue of the “alleged stolen coaches in Borno,” Okhiria said that there was no truth to the story. He explained that the NRC was moving coaches from Maiduguri to the Jos Maintenance Yard for repairs, but that about 20 tires of the coaches were shot at and destroyed.
He added that the corporation is already in touch with the Borno state government about the matter.
Okhiria also said that more states are showing interest in providing intra-city train services to their people and listed Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, and Kwara among states that are already discussing with the corporation for metro train operations.
