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Tag: Free train ride

  • JUST IN: FG flags off free nationwide train ride

    JUST IN: FG flags off free nationwide train ride

    …to ferry over 340,000 passengers

    …passengers commend initiative, calls for orderliness

    The federal government has flagged off the free train ride across the country as part of measures to reduce the financial burden and to ensure Nigerians who intend to travel enjoy the yuletide season.

    According to the federal government, Nigerians who want to travel during the yuletide would enjoy a free train ride from 20th December to 5th January 2025.

    The Acting Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Mr. Ben Iloanusi said the Corporation projects to ferry over 340,000 passengers during the period.

    He disclosed this at the Kubwa train station in Abuja on Friday after the first train departed Abuja for Rigasa in Kaduna State.

    He also assured that security has been beefed up to protect passengers, manage crowds and ensure orderliness.

    He said: “Today is the first free ride palliative set by the federal government, and It’s a very grand idea. We assure Nigerians that we will enforce the free train ride and make sure it goes successfully.”

    On requirements to board the train, Iloanusi said: “Prospective passengers are expected to book their tickets online free of charge and then come with a means of identification to the station before boarding and for those who may be unable to get tickets online, they would be profiled by our staff before they board.”

    On the number of passengers the Corporation estimates to transport during the yuletide, he said: “We have an average of 20,000 passengers every day that will ride the train free of charge. So approximately, we are going to carry about 340,000 passengers over the period. We are expecting this to last until early January. So today, on average, we’ve done 20,000 across the routes where the free train ride is happening.

    “The routes are Abuja-Kaduna route, Lagos-Ibadan route, Port Harcourt-Aba route, Lagos-Mass Transit route, and Wari-Itakpe route. Today, all the routes went seamlessly. The passengers boarded those with tickets and those without tickets. The ones without tickets were profiled.”

    To ensure seamless operation, the MD appealed to passengers to be orderly and get to the station at least 45 minutes before departure time.

    “I want to appeal to Nigerians and our passengers to be orderly. I encourage all Nigerians who want to travel to make their travel plans early and book online. The tickets are available. It makes it easy for us to allow them to board if they have a ticket. And importantly, please, they should ensure they have a valid identification; NIN, international passport, or a valid driver’s licence.

    Read Also: Free train ride: Get your ticket online – NRC tells passengers

    “This initiative is to show that the federal government is trying to ease the burden of the masses. The palliative is one of the ways the federal government is trying to do this.”

    On measures put in place to control crowd and ensure security, Iloanusi said: “We have beefed up our security. We have also improved on buying tickets. So for instance, a passenger will be unable to buy more than two tickets at a time. We have put that in place to ensure that people don’t buy multiple tickets at the same time.

    “We are trying in terms of crowd control. We have put together extra security. Our staff too are trying on their part to make sure that there is orderliness. But importantly for me, I urge Nigerians and everybody who wants to enjoy this free train ride to come to the station on time, at least 45 minutes to an hour before departure time. Have your tickets, a valid means of identification, obey the rules and if you are asked to queue, queue. We will accommodate as many people as we can.”

    A public servant, Isah Slaisu, who rode the train from Rigasa in Kaduna state, commended the federal government for the initiative. He, however, called for orderliness.

    “This is a very good initiative by the federal government and this has put smiles on so many faces. This has also saved me some money that can be used for other things. What I noticed is a lack of order. I hope in the coming days, it will be addressed”.

    Another passenger, Maria Balogun, condemned the booking process and appealed that the payment option be restored if the process wasn’t orderly.

    She alleged that some staff deliberately made the booking online difficult for intending passengers.

    “I feel the booking process is not tidy. I attempted to book my ticket online but several atheists failed. I had to go to the station to get a ticket and the process was not easy because of the crowd. Some passengers who were desperate to get space on the train had to pay the staff to board.

    “There is a need for proper measures to also control crowd. While we were boarding today, the rush led to the passengers destroying one of the exit doors at the station.”

    Reacting to the complaints, Mr. Iloanusi promised to address the issues in the coming days.

  • Yuletide: Fed Govt offers free train ride to travellers

    Yuletide: Fed Govt offers free train ride to travellers

    • Bus passengers get 50% rebate

    The Federal Government and transport unions are negotiating the implementation of a 50 per cent discount for inter-state travel.

    President Bola Tinubu yesterday approved the rebate.

    He also okayed free train rides during the Yuletide.

    Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr Dele Alake, told reporters at the State House that the gesture was part of the President’s efforts to make life easier for citizens.

    Alake chairs the Inter-ministerial Committee on Presidential Intervention.

    He was accompanied by Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris; Minister of Transportation, Saidu Alkali; and Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga.

    Also at the briefing was the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi.

    According to Alake, the approved rebate will last from today to January 4.

    Alake said: “In the spirit of Christmas and demonstration of his love for Nigerians as proof, the President feels the Federal Government should intervene to bring down the costs of public transportation to allow persons who want to travel to visit their loved ones.

    Read Also; Electricity disruption nationwide caused by shutdown of Egbin Power Plant – IED

    “The President is well aware of the recent increase in the cost of interstate transportation.

    “It is in this wise that the Federal Government is announcing, beginning from tomorrow (today), a special discounted holiday season fare on road transport and zero-fare by rail across Nigeria.

    “What this means is that from tomorrow (today), Nigerians willing to travel can board public transport via minibuses and luxury buses at a 50 per cent discount of current cost.

    “All our train services on the routes the trains currently serve will operate at zero cost to and fro this holiday season.

    “This special presidential intervention will commence Thursday, December 21. It will end on January 4, 2024.

    “The Federal Government through the Ministry of Transportation will be working with transporters, road transport unions, and Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to seamlessly deliver on this special presidential initiative.

    “Nigerians wishing to embark on inter-state travel to any part of the country from Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Owerri, Ibadan, Akure, Maiduguri, Sokoto and other major inter-state transportation hubs will be able to do so at half the cost.

    “The Federal Government under the leadership of President Tinubu is working very hard to make sure Nigerians have a memorable and happy holiday season.

    “The President has already directed the Police, Department of State Services, the Military and other security agencies to work collaboratively to ensure the holiday period is safe without any security breach in any part of the country.”

    Alake said all the relevant stakeholders in the industry have been engaged and the parameters laid out.

    “We have met the presidents of the various transport unions. We have had to haggle and negotiate and everything is in top shape in terms of execution. It has been in the works.”

    NRC Managing Director, Fidet Okhiria, in a statement, urged passengers to obtain tickets via e-ticketing platforms.

    “Passengers are advised to obtain their free tickets via the online e-ticketing platforms only. 

    “Tickets will not be issued at any of the Corporation’s Train Stations,” the statement said.

    No commuter will be allowed to board the train without a ticket.

    “We enjoin commuters to be orderly, obey security personnel and the laid down boarding instructions of the NRC and those of its officials while at the station and on-board the trains.”

    It means the government will cover about N228.35 million the NRC would have earned for the 15 days the Presidential Seasonal Intervention (PSI) will last.

    According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), 1.37 million persons used the train system in the fourth quarter, with N1.15 billion generated.

    Altogether, 3.21 million passengers used the trains in 2022, and a total of N4. 55 billion was generated.

    NRC said the train ride will be on four designated routes: Lagos-Ibadan, Abuja-Kaduna, Warri-Itakpe and Ido-Ijoko.

    The NRC runs passenger train services on three national networks namely: Abuja-Kaduna Train Service (AKTS), Itakpe-Warri Train Service (IWTS) and Lagos-Ibadan Train Service (LITS).

    It also runs a Mass Train Transit Service (MTTS) between Iddo-Ijoko on the Narrow Gauge and between Lagos-Abeokuta or Lagos-Papalanto on the Standard Gauge.

  • Osun gives free train ride at Easter

    Osun State government is organising free train service for people intending to travel during the Easter holiday.

    This is the 34th edition of the free train service from Lagos to Osogbo, organised by the Governor Rauf Aregbesola administration.

    It started in 2011.

    A statement by the Commissioner for Industries, Commerce and Cooperatives,  Ismail Adekunle Jayeoba-Alagbada, said: “The government is happy to have come this far in the provision of the service that makes life more comfortable for the citizens of Osun and other states.

    “We are happy as we again organise the free train service for our people to celebrate Easter.

    “The free train will move from Iddo Train Terminus in Lagos at 10am on Friday and arrive Osogbo at 6pm the same day.

    “It will take off from Nelson Mandela Freedom Park Train Station in Osogbo at 10am on Monday, April 2 and arrive Lagos Iddo Terminus at 6pm.

    “Passengers along the Lagos-Ogun-Oyo to Osun routes will have the opportunity to join the train at designated train stations.”

  • Yuletide: Holiday makers to enjoy Osun free train ride

    The Osun State government has said its annual Christmas and New Year free train ride will convey holiday makers from Lagos to the state.

    The gesture started in 2011 and has been sustained to enable Osun State indigenes and other residents travel without hitches during festive periods.

    The government said the free train ride is in line with the Rauf Aregbesola administration’s yearly practice of ensuring convenient movement of Osun State residents in and out of the state during festive seasons.

    A statement by the Commissioner for Industry, Commerce and Co-operatives, Ismail Adekunle Jayeoba-Alagbada, urged the indigenes to use the free train ride well during the festive period.

    The statement added: “The train would, at 10 a.m. on Saturday, December 23, convey people from Lagos to Osogbo. The return journey to Lagos from Osogbo will be on Tuesday, December 26, at 10 a.m.

    “The train will also resume from Lagos to Osogbo for the New Year celebration at 10 a.m. on Saturday, December 30, and return to Lagos on Tuesday, January 2, 2018.”

  • Aregbesola’s free train ride

    As expected, a few days to Eid-el-Kabir, the Osun State Government announced the schedule for its free train ride from Lagos to Osogbo, the state capital.  A statement by the Commissioner for Commerce, Industries and Cooperatives, Ismail Jayeoba-Alagbada, on August 27 explained that the arrangement was in “furtherance of Governor Rauf Aregbesola administration’s commitment to the welfare of the ordinary people who deserve this form of support from the government.”

    The statement gave details: “The first train moves from Lagos on Wednesday August 30th, 2017 at exactly 10am from the Iddo Terminus, Lagos enroute our usual Ikeja, through Ogun and Oyo State to end the journey in Osogbo. Another one leaves at the same time on Thursday August 31st, 2017 through the same route down to Osogbo. After the eid-el-kabir celebration, the train leaves Osogbo on Sunday September 3rd, 2017 for Lagos. This we have concluded as the plan for this year’s eid-el-kabir festival.”

    The commissioner added: “This is one of the social protection projects of the Aregbesola administration and since we commenced this more than six years ago, we have not looked back. Even in the face of very harsh financial constraints, we have strived to keep this offer going convinced that it has offered great opportunities for our people and helped their finances as well.”

    This free train ride, which happens during major Islamic and Christian festivals, has been a striking feature of the Aregbesola administration, and many people look forward to the ride because it enables them to connect with their roots during the significant festive periods.

    It takes a governor with an unusual sense of people-oriented governance to come up with this kind of people-oriented service. For instance, what kind of governor would choose to spend the night telling the people about his administration’s performance?  There is only one such governor in the country. It is usual to have governors talk to the people at town hall meetings at daytime; but the unusual calls to the unusual. Governor Rauf Aregbesola has been unusual in his governance style, but he has achieved results that deserve public attention.   Talking of an unusual approach to governance, an account of his latest talk-to-the-people programme in May speaks volumes for his methods. A report captured the event known as ‘Aregbe Till Day Break’: “For more than six hours, from midnight, the governor tendered his score card before the people. He was on the popularity weighing scale at the WOCDIF Event Centre, the venue of the event. He responded to probing questions with vigour and aggression. In a sense, the governor was combative. Reeling out facts and figures, he convinced the audience that governance was not a tea party in a period of national distress. Accompanied by Deputy Governor Grace Laoye Tomori and other aides, Aregbesola, after explaining some of his projects, would ask his permanent secretaries and other state officials to shed light on the people-oriented programmes, government’s constraints and prospects of early completion.”

    What happened to some of the enthusiastic people who wanted to take advantage of the Eid-el-Kabir free train ride showed how good ideas, good intentions and good planning could be messed up by circumstances beyond the control of those who meant well.

    A report presented a picture of the August 31 movement: “Hundreds of Osun-bound passengers, who had massed at the Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC, Iddo Terminal in Lagos for the free train ride provided by Osun Government for Eid-el-Kabir, were on Thursday stranded. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the huge number of passengers who turned out for the ride outstripped the available coaches…Some of the stranded passengers, who spoke to NAN correspondent, were pained for not making the trip, but they commended the governor’s gesture. They pleaded with the government to provide more coaches or extend the days allotted for the exercise to enable intending travellers to enjoy the free ride.”

    The report continued: “Saliu Ademola, an artisan, told NAN: “I was shocked when I got to the terminal to see the crowd. The NRC should increase the number of coaches to enable the passengers to enjoy the train services.” A disappointed Taibat Lawal said in spite of her early arrival at the terminal in the morning, she was not lucky to be on board… NAN also reports that the normal fare per passenger for Lagos-Osogbo trip by train is N1, 500.”

    The situation that arose simply showed how popular the free train ride had become among the people. There is no question that the free train ride is based on the age-old political philosophy that government should exist to serve the people. In A Fragment on Government, Jeremy Bentham observes: “It is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong.”

    Interestingly, Aregbesola’s free train ride draws attention to the country’s rail transport system, which needs to be reimagined.  It is good news that the proposed concession of the railway to General Electric (GE) is on course, according to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) Managing Director, Mr. Fidet Okhiria. An August 29 report said: “Okhiria, who chaired a meeting with members of the transaction advisers in his office, said there was no doubt that the concessionaire would move in before year end. The NRC helmsman was represented at the meeting by the Director of Operations, Mr. Niyi Alli, who said the meeting was to fine-tune the gray areas of the entire transaction in order to ensure that it ends up being beneficial to both parties.”

    Further information: “The Nation’s checks revealed that three components are contained in the GE concession terms. “The GE contract terms have three components – with a separate firm –Transnet- handling the track maintenance, APTML, a terminal operator, handling the cargo element and GE itself,” a top official, who would not want his name mentioned, said. According to him, the GE will supervise the three components, and pay royalties to the Corporation, which retains the entire workforce. “The terms of the agreement is to have the GE work on the railway at least for the first 12 months, after which the agreement may be renewed,” the source added.”

    Hopefully, the country’s rail transport system will improve and attain modern standards in the not too distant future.

  • Free train ride: Kudos to Aregbesola

    Free train ride: Kudos to Aregbesola

    SIR: It bears no restating that the hyena of Nigeria’s economic downturn is ferociously biting deeper into the financial flesh of many homes. Prices of goods and services have increased exponentially with no commensurate rise in the earning powers of the people. Many basic needs are hardly being met and a couple of projects that would have been begun and concluded in record times are on hold. It is at this hard time that the last Eid-El-Kabir was observed. Though many could not celebrate the festival as they would have loved to, some still have some memorable experience. I am one of those who will always remember this year’s festival for good and I thank Governor Rauf Aregbesola for it.

    After the last Ramadan, my wife and I decided we would observe the Sallah celebration at our hometown, Ede, Osun State in spite of the economic situation in the country.  The Aregbesola-free-train policy made it possible for us. I have heard about it before then but did not pay much attention to it. If governance is about easing pains and making life liveable, I think that is what the Aregbesola government has just done for my family and a host of others who have been enjoying it in the last six years. I am writing to appreciate the governor because I am one of those who share the view of that American President, J F. Kennedy that ‘we must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives’.

    That free-train policy made a difference in my family this year. Yes, I am not unaware of the irrefutable fact that it is the duty of government at whatever level to cater to the welfare of its people and provide social services for their well-being. But when a government gets at its duty responsibly, I think it is sensible to commend it as a means of encouraging it. And if that state government is in Nigeria where governments are known to shirk their duties to citizens, then it all the more becomes necessary to encourage a performing one by showing appreciation for its invaluable efforts.

    What I find remarkable about the free train idea is not only that it helps in making family happiness and reunion possible, but also that the Osun Government has been consistent with it. That consistency is laudable. It shows that the idea is not meant to fool people or deceive them. It is about service for the good of the people, regardless of their religious leanings. That is governance.

    I wish to urge Ogbeni Aregbesola to spend the remaining two years of his tenure to do more great works for the good of the people of Osun. I call for more support and cooperation with the government from the people of the state, home and abroad.

     

    • Isiaka Yusuf

    Agege, Lagos State.

  • Osun indigenes defy downpour for Aregbesola’s free train ride

    Hundreds of Osun indigenes yesterday defied morning downpour to enjoy free train ride provided by Gov. Rauf Aregbesola for Eid-El-Kabir celebration.

    The train took off from Lagos for Oshogbo.

    The Aregbesola-led government has been offering the free train ride to Osun indigenes every festive season in the past six years.

    Some of the commuters who spoke to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) commended the governor for giving them the opportunity of going home to see their loved ones.

    A civil servant, Tajudeen Olafare, who boarded the train with his wife and three children, said that it was his first time of boarding a train.

    “We have been here since 4a.m. from Okokomaiko, waiting to board the train; it is real,” Olafare said.

    Another commuter, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Ajao, said that the free ride was a good initiative, especially in a period of economic recession.

    According to her, the gesture has given many Osun indigenes the opportunity of spending festive periods in their villages at little or no cost.

    Meanwhile, Mr Jerry Oche, the Lagos Railway District Manager of Nigerian Railway Corporation, said that the available train could not convey all intending passengers on Saturday. Oche told NAN that some of the passengers had been told to wait till Sunday since the train had a maximum capacity.

    Oche said: “We have two trains tomorrow but today it is one; l advise that people should not hang on the train because it is a long journey.

    “People should cooperate with our checkers and security agents. I have told our checkers and security agents to be vigilant during the journey.”

    NAN reports that the 10-coach train was filled with people, bags of rice and rams.

  • PDP’s story on free train ride shameless,says Osun APC

    PDP’s story on free train ride shameless,says Osun APC

    The All Progressives Congress in the state of  Osun on Friday described  as ‘shameless’ the Peoples Democratic Party’s allegation that Osun state government spent N100 million each time it organised a free train ride.

    The APC, in a statement signed by the party’s chairman, Prince Gboyega Famodun said ‘because the PDP is a party of charlatans and rogues, it could afford to think that providing ordinary people with comfort would be used as a means of siphoning funds’.

    The statement noted, “The free train ride has been on since we started our administration in this state and that was when the PDP was in power at the centre and they could have used everything within their power to find out how much is spent each time we organize it. It’s envy. Having seen the popularity of the program, and the impact on the people, the only thing they can do, is to seek to rubbish it.”

    Accusing the PDP of intellectual laziness, the APC said “Diran Odeyemi and the entire membership of the rickety thing, they call party, are lazy intellectually.

     ”If not, it only takes them a visit to the Nigerian Railway Corporation office to find out how much is paid to the corporation for each trip to have an idea of what it costs the state to put the train on the track for the comfort of our people.

  • Easter holiday: Osun again offers free train ride

    Easter holiday: Osun again offers free train ride

    The Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has announced this year’s free train ride for the Easter celebration as part of its continued commitment to the welfare and well-being of the people of the state.

    This is contained in a statement by the Ministry of Commerce, Cooperative, Industry and Empowerment announced that on Wednesday, the free train ride would convey people coming for the Easter festival from Lagos to Osogbo on Friday 25 by 10am.

    A return train will depart Osogbo to Lagos on Monday, March 28 by 11:00am.

    The statement noted that the government did this to ease movements of the people during period of the festivity.

    The Government therefore enjoined indigenes of the state to maximise the advantage the free train ride offers them to visit home and enjoy the celebration.

    The statement said: “This tradition of free train ride as introduced by the Aregbesola government about five years ago is aimed at facilitating the easy movement of the citizenry wherever they are.

    “And this programme takes care of both Islamic and Christian festivities. Since its commencement, we can say confidently that it has been a boost to the economy of the state.

    “It is this ease during festival periods that informed the introduction of the scheme by Governor Aregbesola.

    “Therefore, it is the wish of government that our people from Lagos, Ogun and Oyo States would seize this window of opportunity by Aregbesola’s government to visit home and celebrate with their relatives.”

     

  • Free train ride on Monday

    Free train ride on Monday

    The Osun State government has declared Monday as the day for the free train service for those returning to Lagos from Osogbo, the state capital, after the Eid-el-fitril celebrations.

    A statement by the governor’s media aide, Semiu Okanlawon, Monday is the free train return trip day since the Federal Government has declared the day as public holiday.

    The state government urged citizens to use this festive period to pray for the unity of Nigeria and the progress of the nation.