Free train ride: We conveyed 63,000 passengers in two days – NRC

Over 63,000 people have so far benefited from the free train ride declared by the Federal Government for the yuletide travels by Nigerians, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has said.

Managing Director, NRC, Engr. Fidet Okhiria, disclosed that the 63,000 passengers were moved between December 24 and 26 alone.

Daily Trust reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had last week declared free train rides across the country covering all passenger services operated by the NRC. This is in addition to the 50 per cent discount on inter-state transportation.

The NRC commenced the free train service on its entire passengers’ services from Thursday, December 21, 2023 and it would end by Thursday, January 4, 2024.

The NRC MD who spoke with journalists in Lagos on Thursday stated that the Federal Government had under-written all the costs involved in offering the free train service across the system.

He commended the Federal Government for providing all the necessary support to achieve the feat.

The MD also advised passengers to obtain their tickets via the website as tickets are not available at the various stations.

According to him, e-ticketing “is to enable us to gather appropriate information to profile people travelling on our trains.”

He also stated that railway workers had been mobilised nationwide to ensure that the directive of the President was fully enforced.

He said the free train passenger service was being offered on all the corporation’s routes such as Lagos-Ibadan, Abuja-Kaduna and Warri-Itakpe standard gauge lines.

The NRC MD also decried the seemingly unending vandalisation of tracks across the railway corridors, saying, “Over 50,000 clips were vandalised on the Lagos-Ibadan rail line; same for the Kaduna-Abuja track”.