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File: Passengers boarding on a train.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation has announced plans to investigate allegations of ticket racketeering involving some officials on the Abuja-Kaduna train service.
The Corporation’s Deputy Director of Public Relations, Yakub Mahmood, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday.
Mahmood revealed that some officials have been exploiting passengers’ difficulties with the online booking platform to engage in ticket racketeering.
The statement read: “Information has reached the management of the NRC regarding passengers’ difficulties in obtaining tickets online, leading to ticket racketeering on the Abuja-Kaduna Train Service (AKTS) in recent times.
“To address this unfortunate situation, management has set up a team, headed by the Deputy Director of ICT, to investigate.
“In the meantime, the Managing Director of the NRC, Mr Freeborn Okhiria, has directed Mr Mohammed Modibo Ibrahim to immediately report and assume the position of Manager of the AKTS.
“The Managing Director has also instructed the Director of Operations to increase the frequency of train services on the route within the next two weeks.”
Mahmood appealed to the public, especially passengers, to bear with the NRC, assuring them that the issue would soon be resolved.
On 22 January 2021, the Federal Government launched a
N900 million e-ticketing platform for the online purchase of train tickets on the Abuja-Kaduna service.
In November 2023, the NRC introduced the electronic ticketing platform for the Lagos-Ibadan and Itakpe-Warri train services.
The NRC said the e-ticketing platform was introduced to reduce physical contact between passengers and the Corporation’s staff.
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