By Olanrewaju Adesanya
The Lagos District Manager of the Nigerian Railway Corporation Engr Jerry Oche has said the patronage of the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge is increasing daily, running from Sundays to Saturdays.
It runs Monday to Friday from 0800hrs and 1600 hours, from Ibadan and Lagos end, while on Friday, it runs three shuttles from 0800 hours, 1200 hours and 1600 hours, It runs three shuttles on Saturday 0830 hours, 1300 and 1800 hours, and the trains moves in both directions from Lagos and Ibadan on the dual standard gauge.
Oche said passengers’ experience have continued to be positive and encouraging. He said both the Lagos – Abeokuta and the Lagos – Ibadan are very promising and encouraging, adding that the Corporation would soon begin 16 trips daily in response to the surge we are experiencing on the corridor.
He said the Corporation is happy that the modern train is being accepted by Nigerians as increased patronage on a month to month basis has shown. He said when the shuttle is increased to 16, it would be possible to have an express service that would run only Lagos – Ibadan or Ibadan – Lagos, while we would also have others which would be stopping at notable stations along the route.
Oche said patronage is increasing on the modern train service due to a number of reasons namely the challenges of traffic jams on the road and principally the need to try out the new alternative that the government is providing by the train which is a modern, more comfortable and convenient way of travelling.
He said so many people who never thought of using the train in Nigeria are now coming to buy tickets and travelling on the modern train system and the Nigerian Railway Corporation is happy to be of service to Nigerians in this regard.
Oche said the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge has come to stay and would continue to attract discerning passengers looking for a better and more convenient way of intercity commuting.
He said as at July when the passenger count on the Lagos-Ibadan route was taken, the NRC has recorded 33,140 passenger traffic, with more passengers being recorded on the Economy than the First Class category.
The Lagos-Ibadan train tickets cost between N3,000 for economy class (which has been further reduced to N2500) and N6000 for First Class.
Oche said: “In July, the total passenger traffic on board the standard class stood at 24,948, out of the 33,140 passengers traffic. For business class, we recorded 6995 and for first class, we had 1167 while the total passenger traffic recorded from Lagos to Ibadan in July stood at 33,140.
“In June we recorded 7134 passenger traffic from Lagos alone, while the increase in July was as a result of increased awareness and addition to the number of trips after the inauguration. We are not using all the door coaches, we open only two doors one for standard class and the second for business class and first class.
He added that the corporation is working towards introducing snacks in the lounge and was only waiting for a go-ahead from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for its commencement.
On the convenience onboard, Oche said every ticket has a coach and seat number, and there are usually officials who are on ground to direct passengers to their seat as indicated on their ticket.
He said the allowed luggage in board the standard gauge is 25kg per passenger and excess luggage would attract additional payment.
On convenience of payment, Oche said though passengers now use Point of Sales (POS) for ticket payment, some banks are already indicating interest to partner with the NRC to make ticket payment more convenient for passengers at the various train stations. He was not however sure when this would eventually take-off.
The spokesman of the Ibadan District of the Nigerian Railway Corporation Callistus Unyimadu said the patronage on the corridor are usually at its peak from Ibadan on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, which usually experience over subscription of the coaches available. He said passengers’ experience had been very pleasant since commercial operation on the modern train service was officially flagged off by President Muhammadu Buhari on June 10, 2021.
He said the corporation is introducing a number of initiatives aimed at making the service more convenient and pleasant for travellers on the train.