By Ahmed Idris, Abuja.
The Federal Government has a announced a proposed plan to jerk up the train fare for the Abuja-Kaduna route.
Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, gave the hint while addressing State House correspondents after meeting President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday.
Amaechi said the increase may take effect after President Buhari would have inaugurated 10 new coaches and two locomotives for the Kaduna – Abuja train service on Thursday.
The minister claimed that even the train passengers agree that the cost of transportation to Kaduna via the rail was too cheap.
According to him, once the fare is increased, there would also be more comfort for passengers though he did not disclose the percentage of the increase expected.
The minister expressed the conviction that the increase of locomotives to 14 will stop racketeering that led to the sack of the station managers, porters, and ticket officials at Idu and Rigasa rail stations last year August.
“We discussed the inauguration of 10 new coaches and two locomotives which will bring the total number of coaches to 14 on the Kaduna-Abuja route.
“The President is pleased with the arrangement because basically we will then be able to discharge the passengers pressure that we have had, that is why you have ticket racketeering.
“When demand is more than supply, then you see all sorts of attempts to cheat the passengers.
“There are two things I know the President likes. I have mentioned one, the second one, is after inauguration even the passengers agree that the cost of transportation to Kaduna via the railway is a bit too cheap.
“So, there will be a need to increase the price of the ticket and then there will be more comfort. More comfort in the sense that when you have excess seats multiply by the number of passengers that will come, then anybody that wants to racketeer will have to eat the tickets himself,” he said.
