Yuletide: Travellers weigh advantages, disadvantages of new Lagos-Abeokuta-Ibadan train service

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) recently launched passenger train services from Lagos through Abeokuta to Ibadan via the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge trains. TOLA ADENUBI felt the pulse of prospective users.

THE Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) on Monday commenced the operation of Lagos-Abeokuta-Ibadan passenger train service, thereby bringing an extra alternative for Lagosians hoping to travel to Abeokuta or Ibadan and other places before or during the Yuletide.

Speaking at the commencement of the operation, the NRC District Manager, Mr Jerry Oche, explained that the new service afforded passengers the luxury of travelling inside fully-air conditioned train for as low as N3,000.

Oche said: “This newly introduced service provides fully-air conditioned train services in different categories. The Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge train affords members of the public the opportunity to leave Ibadan for Lagos at 8.00 a.m. and return at 4.00 p.m. same day. This service is fast, convenient, safe and relatively cheap. There is an option for everyone as the tickets are available in Economy at N3,000, Business Class at N5,000 and First Class rates at N6,000. The journey time from Lagos to Ibadan is two and a half hours which makes more sense, going by recent reports of traffic that has characterised Lagos to Ibadan road due to ongoing road construction along that axis. All major rules and regulations guiding the trains remain, especially in the area of nose mask usage and hand washing practice, which are measures in place to curb the spread of COVID-19 while on-board the train.”

 

Are fares fair?

While many argued that the fares for the Lagos-Abeokuta leg of the train ride are on the high side, for others, going to Ibadan, the N3,000 economy price is a good bargain. Speaking to Saturday Tribune, Mr Oluwaseun Shobayo, a native of Abeokuta, lamented the high cost of the train ride from Lagos to Abeokuta.

“I would surely be going home this Yuletide along with my family. Every year end, I go home with my family because my wife and I hail from Abeokuta in Ogun State. The new train service would have been a very good option for me and my family but it is too expensive. If I have to travel to Abeokuta with my wife and three children through the train, and I am lucky to get an Economy ticket for the family, that is N15,000 for my entire family. That is outrageous. If I go by road and take a bus from Jibowu, the highest price that I will get is N1,000, meaning, with three children and my wife, I won’t spend more than N5,000 to get to Abeokuta. I would have loved to experience the train ride to Abeokuta with my family but the price is too expensive for me,” Shobayo said.

For Adigun Lasisi, a native of Ibadan who works at the Lagos airport as a clearing agent, the train trip to Ibadan is something he was looking forward to. He said: “I can’t wait to round off work at the airport for the year and go home. Obviously, I will be going home by train if I get an Economy ticket which is N3,000. If I have to go by road, I will spend around N2,500, which I think is not too far off from what the NRC is charging for the Economy ticket. Except the Economy ticket isn’t available, I will be going home by train this year since I have never experienced such a trip to Ibadan before. Aside the from Economy ticket, I think the other categories of ticket are on the high side or maybe they are not for people in my class. To travel to Ibadan with N5,000 or N6,000 is on the high side. Ibadan by road is always between N2,000 and N2,5000 depending on when somebody is travelling. Why would I spend N5,000 to travel to Ibadan when I can get there for N2,000 or N2,500? The year has been tough business-wise and there is the need to save every available kobo for the Yuletide. Except the Economy ticket is made more available, because I fear a possible rush for the ticket in that category since it is not too far off what the masses can afford.”

 

Safety assured?

While opinions remain divided over the pricing of the train rides from Lagos to Abeokuta and Ibadan, many agree that a trip by train is more assuring security-wise, compared to a road trip.

“The security assurances that the trip provides for travellers is another reason I would love to travel to Ibadan by train. With the spate of insecurity on our highways, and too many people getting kidnapped when vehicles are stopped on the highway at illegal checkpoints mounted by kidnappers, I will prefer the train ride ahead of the bus ride, but subject to availability of the Economy ticket,” Lasisi added.

Shedding more light on the safety of the train ride, compared to a road trip, the NRC district manager, Mr Oche, revealed that aside the fact that a moving train could not be stopped easily compared to the way buses are stopped on the highway, the train rides would also be accompanied by armed security officials.

Oche said: “In terms of the security aspect, the train is a better alternative for travellers this Yuletide because nobody can stop a train at full speed in the middle of nowhere like kidnappers or armed robbers stop vehicles on highways. How do you stop a train that is moving at, maybe, 100 or 120 kilometers per hour? It is not humanly possible, except something mechanical happens to the train. A breaking distance for a moving train is about 800 meters to one kilometer. So, how will anybody stop the train? For road transportation, people just enter the roads, point guns at approaching vehicles or mount roadblocks to stop vehicles. That cannot happen for a moving train. Aside from this, we will be having armed men onboard to ensure added security. The presence of armed men is just to provide added security, even though we know that it is extremely difficult to stop a moving train when in full speed.”

On where the train will be stopping to either pick passengers or allow others to alight, the NRC District Manager explained to Saturday Tribune: “The Lagos-Ibadan passenger train will only have two stops once it leaves Lagos. The first stop will be in Abeokuta to allow passengers going to that axis to alight, and the next stop will be Ibadan, its final destination, before returning to Lagos. So, for a train that will only be stopping in Abeokuta and Ibadan, once it leaves Lagos, you can imagine the speed at which it will be travelling. Travellers can go to sleep in the fully-air conditioned train and be rest assured of their safety, compared to what they will experience if they choose the road trip to their hometowns. We therefore urge people to hurry to the train station in Ebutte Metta to book their ticket because for now, only one train will depart Lagos for Abeokuta and Ibadan on a daily basis, and return to Lagos same day.”

He declined to speak on the perceived high fares.

 

Any threat to road transportation?

While some commuters think that the option of a train ride might lead to a crash in cost of road transportation, which normally goes up during the Yuletide, road transport unions are expressing a contrary view.

Speaking to Saturday Tribune, a banker, Mr Hameed Bankole, expressed the belief that the introduction of train transportation for travellers would lead to a crash in road transport fares during the Yuletide.

“The train ride from Lagos to Abekouta and Ibadan is a welcome development. It couldn’t have been introduced at a better time than when the Yuletide is fast approaching. I expect the option of a train ride for commuters to halt the way road transport fares go up during the Yuletide. Normally, during Yuletide, road transport owners jack up transport fares arbitrarily. They have associations and unions and most times, the hike in prices is uniform, leaving commuters with no choice but to pay through their nose just to travel back home. But now, there is an option of a train ride which is safer and secured. I expect this to halt the way and manner road transport owners jerk up transport fares during the yuletide since they know that commuters can decide to use the trains instead of their buses,” Bankole said.

However, for the General Secretary of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), KLT Chapter, Mr Ifeanyi Ekwunife, the introduction of the trains won’t affect the cost for road movement.

He said: “As normal, the transport fares will go up during the Yuletide because trains cannot carry everybody. Yes, it will reduce the size of the commuting public, but it won’t affect the pricing of the transport fares. While many will besiege the train stations to hustle for tickets, many will also besiege the bus garages scattered all over Lagos to board a bus. The reason why it won’t affect the pricing of road transport fares is because not everybody will get the economy ticket to board train. Many will shy away from the business class and first class seats because of their expensive rates, thus returning to the garages to board buses. The number of people that travel during the Yuletide is huge, and I am not sure that the train has the capacity to ferry everybody to their respective destinations.

“During the Yuletide, road transportation fares will still go up as usual. The train will take its fare share of the commuting public, but not the lion share due to lack of capacity. Only one train will depart Lagos for Abeokuta and Ibadan per day, and such train cannot carry the whole commuting public. So, the fares of road transportation will still go up due to the fact that not everybody will travel by train. Don’t also forget that the train station is fixed at Ebutte-Metta, and for people that reside in places that are far away from Ebutte-Metta, having to go down to that part of Lagos might discourage them. The fact that they might even take the risk of going down to Ebutte Metta and still not be able to get a ticket might force them to go by road. So many factors will ensure that the prices of transport fares do not go down as envisaged in some quarters. Factors like lack of capacity on the part of the NRC, restricted places of entry and departure for the trains, and limited number of tickets. Maybe when the NRC increases the numbers of trains that depart Lagos for Abeokuta and Ibadan to three or four, then we can start talking of the train service becoming a threat to road transport business.”

 

Not without blight?

For Adigun Lasisi, it is important that the train is always kept in good condition to avoid a repeat of what recently happened on the Abuja-Kaduna route when what were supposed to be new trains broke down in the middle of nowhere.

“I read in the news how new locomotive trains deployed on the Abuja-Kaduna route broke down in the middle of nowhere, leaving passengers at the mercy of robbers or kidnappers. I just hope the single locomotive that has been deployed along the Lagos-Abeokuta-Ibadan route does not malfunction. Inasmuch as I don’t want to have such thoughts in my head since it is a new locomotive train, what happened along the Abuja-Kaduna route keeps telling me that a similar occurrence might just be lurking along the Lagos-Ibadan route. It is important that the locomotive is in good condition and not over-stretched to avoid unexpected breakdown. There won’t be any cause for alarm if such breakdown occurs while the train is still within the Lagos environs since most parts of the train routes in Lagos are populated areas. However, a breakdown in areas in Ogun State and after Abeokuta en route Ibadan where there are bushes and forests may not be too good for passengers, due to the level of insecurity in the country,” Lasisi stressed.

When reminded that the NRC had said that armed security personnel would always be on board the trains to ensure safety in the event of such an occurrence, he explained that even at that, the fear of a possible exchange of gunfire between bandits or robbers and the armed security personnel aboard the trains is not something he would want to witness.

“Even if the NRC brings in soldiers on board the trains, I pray I am not onboard when a breakdown occurs in the thick of the forest or bush because I won’t want to witness any exchange of gunfire between security officials and bandits in the middle of nowhere,” Lasisi added.

For Alhaja Kudirat Owolabi, a trader, the timing of the trip to Ibadan from Lagos is the issue. She said: “If I have to leave Lagos by 4.00 p.m. and get to Ibadan by after 6.00 p.m., it is already in the evening and not too comfortable for me. If I have to travel to Ibadan, I want to leave early and arrive in Ibadan in order to attend to other family things. The NRC should, as a matter of fact, review the timing from Lagos to Ibadan during the Yuletide. Four o’clock in the evening is not a very good idea for some of us that are leaving Lagos. I should already be in Ibadan by 4.00 p.m. and shouldn’t just be leaving Lagos.”

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