Train passengers decry delay, ticket hoarding

Train commuters have criticised authorities for poor operations which result in delayed departures and ticket hoarding at the Kubwa train station, Abuja. Some passengers told City News that there is no strict adherence to the scheduled takeoff time thereby causing inconveniences to passengers who wait several hours before taking off. One of the passengers, Saba […]

Train commuters have criticised authorities for poor operations which result in delayed departures and ticket hoarding at the Kubwa train station, Abuja.

Some passengers told City News that there is no strict adherence to the scheduled takeoff time thereby causing inconveniences to passengers who wait several hours before taking off.

One of the passengers, Saba Mohammed, said “the major problem here is the take-off time. Passengers will buy their tickets and have to wait for long time to takeoff behind the scheduled time,” he said.

Another passenger, Comfort Gideon, decried the racketeering involved in ticketing at the station.

“My main challenge is with getting tickets, when they see that the demand is high, they tend to reserve some seats which are more comfortable and sell it to some people. Sometimes they sell the tickets for standing and sitting passengers at the same price which is not fair,” she said.

On her part, Shamar Bello, said that the ticket is the major problem but said whenever the authorities  switch off the air conditioner, the atmosphere becomes uncomfortable for the many commuters waiting for trains to ride to their destinations.

“The  problem with this train service is, no matter how early you come to buy ticket, they end up telling you there is no ‘first class’ or ‘ticket has finished’ but at the end, they keep selling to people that pay higher amount” he said.

Zaharadeen Musa also said that some of the officials hoard tickets and sell at higher prices to desperate buyers only when the train is about to take-off.

However, the passengers applauded the quality of the facilities aboard, stressing that toilets and light are available for passengers’ use.

Hassan Umar said “the management and the staff are doing well in maintaining the facilities such as light, toilets and cleanliness aboard”.

“The facilities are in good shape, they clean the seats, the toilets and other facilities on the train,” Musa added.

When contacted on phone, the Operations Manager of the Nigeria Railway Corporation for the Abuja-Kaduna corridor, Mr. Victor Adamu, said he was not yet aware of the complaints.

He however said he was not the mouthpiece of the corporation and was not authorised to speak with the media.