How railway officials hoard tickets
When a senior colleague of mine couldn’t get ticket and called to inform me about hoarding of tickets at the Rigasa rail station, I denied and told him it was the increase in the number of passengers using the train station that resulted in pressure on the tickets. I added by advising him to always […]
When a senior colleague of mine couldn’t get ticket and called to inform me about hoarding of tickets at the Rigasa rail station, I denied and told him it was the increase in the number of passengers using the train station that resulted in pressure on the tickets. I added by advising him to always show up at the station an hour to departure on subsequent trips.
During my penultimate journey to Abuja, even though I arrived the station late, I met other passengers that were at the station an hour earlier and couldn’t get a ticket to board the train. Shortly after we waited, and few minutes to the train’s departure, we were pleading to be allowed to stand throughout the journey. Suddenly, I observed other people hurriedly arriving and are handed tickets by the same official vending the tickets. Thereafter, an old man was bitterly complaining that he arrived 1hr 30mins to departure and yet couldn’t obtain a ticket. It nearly led to a fracas between him and an official trying to absolve the management of hoarding tickets.
In my most recent trip on board the train, I decided to leave for the station 2 hours 30 minutes to departure. While waiting at the terminal, I observed a vending official going round to meet some wealthy individuals. When he came to those sitting one row ahead of me, I saw tickets neatly arranged behind his phone. His index and middle fingers were firmly keeping the tickets in place. Before I could bring out my phone to snap the tickets slashed behind his phone, he has left for other passengers. So, I decided to trail him in a bid to snap the exhibit behind his phone but to no avail. Unrelated, and not wanting him to feel suspicious of my movements around him, I decided to keep distance and zoomed but the picture wasn’t clear.
Luckily, I sited him close to someone I met twice at a mechanic garage when I went to fix my car’s spark plugs. Using the presence of that person as an excuse, I switched on my phone’s video recorder making sure the flashlight wasn’t on and inserted it in my front pocket then went close to the railway official. While greeting the person I met at the mechanic garage, I made sure my phone was facing the railway official as he transacts with a lady. After she paid and he handed her the ticket, he hid the money behind his phone all which were all caught in my video recording. She promised to link him up with some of her colleagues in the office and he warned her to only send responsible people because he doesn’t want problems.
When the next person asked him for ticket, he told him he doesn’t sell tickets that tickets are sold at the vending office. The official quickly pointed to the next lady he’s holding her ticket and said her husband has paid for the ticket four days ago. In fact to convince the person, he added by saying he’s just coming back from Abuja. While all this was going on, people are already told that tickets are finished at the vending office.
With all these sharp practices by railway officials, the government should device better means of ticket purchase that won’t allow money being in direct contact with railway officials and should also quickly increase the number of coaches to reduce the pressure resulting in hoarding.
Yahya Idris, Abuja.