The Nigerian Railway Corporation has disclosed that from next week, the long-awaited electronic ticketing (e-ticketing) on the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge will kick off.
This announcement was made by the Managing Director of the Corporation, Fidet Okhiria on Tuesday while fielding questions at the Television Continental (TVC) on Tuesday.
The Corporation boss revealed that the final testing of the ticketing platform will be accomplished today, Wednesday, to ensure all glitches are sorted out before the public can use it.
Okhiria said that with the e-ticketing system, passengers will not have to be present at train stations before they can obtain tickets. He said, that with any internet-enabled device, passengers will be able to buy their tickets at least 48 hours before their proposed departure date.
He mentioned that the e-ticketing system will be in use in the Abuja-Kaduna, Lagos-Ibadan, and Itakpe- Warri rail lines.
Okhiria also disclosed the intention of the Nigerian Railway Corporation to increase train speed from 40km/hr to 80km/hr on the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Guage.
He stated that since the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge began operating in 2021, it ran at 40km/hr, which was a far cry from the 150km/hr that the track was originally designed for.
He warned against trading on the track, adding that recurring announcements would be made at various train stations in Lagos to ensure the populace is adequately sensitized to the increased train speed.
In his words,
