Despite the media hype which greeted the free train service declared by the Federal Government on the Lagos-Abeokuta train, low turnout has been witnessed since the services commenced, Daily Trust can report.
The free train service was declared by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi after the test-run of the completed phase one of the project from Iju in Lagos to Abeokuta, in Lagos on Friday, February 8, 2019.
Though the service was supposed to commence the following day, it didn’t until Tuesday February 12.
When it started, it was marred by low turnout of passengers, as low as six passengers on coaches that could accommodate 260 passengers, as observed by our correspondent.
But a check at the Iju station, yesterday, indicated that the train has not been in service throughout this week.
Usually the train would leave Abeokuta by 7am and arrive Iju station by around 8:30am and leave Lagos back to Abeokuta in the evening. The train makes only one inbound and outbound trip in a day owing to low turnout of passengers.
Residents interviewed, yesterday, confirmed the free train service has been epileptic and that it did not operate throughout this week.
“I was shocked, yesterday, when I got to Iju station, Lagos to take a ride in the new train our government launched to Abeokuta but I was told there is no information on the service,” one resident said.
It was not clear why the service has been epileptic but sources said it may not be far from the low patronage or apathy by passengers to use the train.
But spokesman of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), Mr. Mahmood Yakubu, insists patronage is increasing, saying the operation was stopped because of the elections.
He said, “It has to do with elections. People are patronizing though it is not much because we are yet to have stations. If we depart here (Iju-Lagos), it would go straight to Abeokuta. Because from Iju, there are stations in between which we are working on.”
He however said the operation might stabilize after the governorship election.
