Expect ticket fare increase on the Abuja-Kaduna train service anytime from when the service resumes, the Minister of Transportation, Mr Muazu Jaji Sambo has said.
He gave the indication on Sunday when he inspected facilities on the Abuja-Kaduna train corridor ahead of the train resumption.
The Minister also said the train operations will not be resuming on the 28th November 2022 as earlier indicated. He however said the service will resume in a about a week’s time.
He said this is because there is a new ticketing procedure and there is the need for sensitisation.
“Please, expect increase in fares. I am having final consultation with the management of NRC and the management of the ministry to see whether it will be immediate or we will take a little time. We all know that prices of things have gone up, even air fares have gone up and we have not heard anybody cry about it. Why is it that it’s only when it is train fares that people are reactive” he quipped.
When asked that the poor people use the train too he said “I can assure you that the poor masses will be taken care of and considered because we are a very sensitive government.”
On security he said there will be “increased number of security personnel and without mincing words, some of these security personnel may not be in uniform in order to guarantee to safety of the traveling public.”
He indicated that there are other sensitive measures that the government has deployed which he will not reveal.
“On every journey, the train is monitored every second on a screen and the train driver can see up to a certain distance if there is any threat on the track, that will enable him match the brakes long before getting to the perceived threat.”
But on the tracks surveillance equipment to detect potential danger even the before the train hit the trains, their is no indication those equipment have been deployed.
On the number of trips, he said: “The number of trips will be reduced. Naturally, you should expect that a certain number of passengers will not be comfortable to board the train for obvious reasons.”
“We are human beings, we are bound to feel a little bit uncomfortable until we can see that every security measure has been pit in place. So, we will reduce the number of trips and as the travelling.populatiin picks up, we will increase the number of trips but we will certainly not travel at night for now” he said.
