AMAECHI ANNOUCES RATES FOR LAGOS-IBADAN STANDARD GAUGE PASSENGER TRAIN

  •  INDUSTRY ANALYSTS, STAKE HOLDERS RAISE EYEBROWS 

The Honourable Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, on Friday December 4, 2020 announced new fares for the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge Passenger Train Service. 

Speaking during the inauguration of the Governing Council of the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration(CIOTA) in Abuja, the minister disclosed that he has received the mandate of President Mohammadu Buhari to inaugurate the Lagos-Ibadan Train come January, 2021.

According to the minister, the Economy Class would cost N3000, while the Business Class and First Class would cost N5,000 and N6,000 respectively. He noted that the price is a transfer of the rates that apply on the Abuja-Kaduna Train.

The announcement of the fare prices have thrown up mixed reactions among industry watchers. While some have no qualms with the rates as they would enjoy shorter journey time, when compared to traveling by public buses and traveling on narrow gauge, others are of the strong opinion that fixing high prices on the standard gauge service is a bad way to start.

A public transportation expert in Lagos, whose identity is protected queried the rationale behind charging the same fares as the Abuja-kaduna Train considering the fact that the distance from  Abuja-Kaduna is 186 kilometre while Lagos to Ibadan is only 156 kiolmetres. 

He also notes that the train fare is three times more than the journey by public bus from Lagos to Ibadan that normally costs between 1000 and 1500 Naira. While the train journey will definitely offer shorter travel time, the bigger question will be if the travel time savings is worth three times the cost of public bus.

Another analyst questioned why the cost for the new train service should be higher than road when as a government service the pricing is usually expected to be lower.

London based rail consultant Jide Ihezele is worried that most of the travelers will have to pay more and use multiple transit means as most of them will not start and end their journeys from Ebute-Metta to Moniya, which is 20 kilometres North of central Ibadan.

Construction work for the Lagos - Ibadan Standard Gauge Rail Line commenced in June 2017. Although the contract with China Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC) was billed to end in 2018, it has suffered lots of set backs and addendums but finally expected to be completed next January. The public are eager for the passenger service to start as it will ease mobility issues and accommodation issues.






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