Abuja train services
While speaking with newsmen on Monday, the Abuja Rail Airport
Station Manager, Okey Ugwuanyi, disclosed that the FCT Rail Mass Transit
on Monday, commenced commercial train services on the
Airport-Idu-Central Area metro line.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ugwuanyi said the
Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), had been running free
services since the inauguration of the metro line by President Muhammadu
Buhari in July.
He said that the cost of the ticket was set at N1,000 for adult on
the airport to metro station, N500 on Idu to Airport and N500 on Idu to
Metro station.
According to him, children will pay N700 between airport and metro
station, N300 between Airport and Idu while persons living with
disabilities would pay N500 and N250 respectively on the routes.
Ugwuanyi also disclosed that the management had only approved two
trips per day into and from the airport, adding that effort was being
made to increase the frequency as soon as possible.
He added that more locomotives and coaches would be added to boost
the conveyance of early morning passengers and airport workers.
“We have been running free services for the past one month and today is the beginning of our commercial operation.
“From this airport station to the metro station, we charge
N1,000 per adult passenger; from here to Idu, we charge N500 and from
Idu to Metro station, we charge N500.
“We charge N700 from the airport to the Metro station and N300
to Idu for children while persons living with disabilities are being
charged N500 and N250 respectively.
“Our current operation is two trips per day from the airport to
the metro station in the town and from the metro station to the
airport.
“The train takes off from Idu at 9:20 a.m. to metro station,
leaves for the airport at 10.00 a.m. and arrives at the airport at 10:40
a.m.
“The train departs from the airport at 1:30 p.m, to arrive at
the metro station at 2:10 p.m. while the second trip commences from
metro station at 2:30 p.m. to arrive the airport at 3:10 p.m.
“Finally, it leaves the airport at 4:20 p.m. to arrive metro station at 5:00 p.m.,’’ he said.
A passenger, Chinedu Opara, described the metro line project as a
good development, adding that the system had made movement to the
airport so easy.
Opara said the stress of looking for cab, paying high cost and the
risk of insecurity on the road had been addressed by the rail line.
He, however, urged the FCTA to look review downward the N1,000
ticket cost and increase the frequency of train service for greater
access to more air passengers.
Ahmed Shehu, a legal practitioner, commended the government for
completing the project, adding that the train station had added more
beauty to the airport.
Shehu, a retired Director from the Ministry of Transportation, said
that the train service was cheaper, safer and faster for airport users
than to using cabs.
He that that the downward review was imperative in the interest of
of the low and medium income earners who might find it difficult to use
the train.
“In every respect, this is a welcome development and a great
relief because this is the kind of infrastructure that we have looked
forward to getting from the government in the past.
“Unfortunately, it is coming this rather late but it is a good development.
“In terms of comparison with using taxi to and from airport,
this is a lot cheaper, safer and probably even faster and in terms of
the cost, no taxi can charge less than N3,000 to town but this is
N1,000.
“But again, relatively speaking, government still needs to
consider the low and average income level of not only the users of the
airport but the surrounding villagers as well.
“Perhaps, N500 should be appropriate because the socio-economic environment of Nigeria is not so encouraging at the moment.
“Youths are out of job and agriculture is rather unsustainable
around here. So, I will say it is a bit costly and I appeal to the
authority to see to it that this cost is reduced.
“Our people should be accommodated in a manner that will enable them to enjoy the fallout of democratic government,’’ he said.