Following the recent increase in the cost of train tickets issued to passengers on board Lagos Mass Transit Train(LMTT) from N460 to N700 per passenger enroute Ijoko/Kajola to Iddo, by Nigerian Railway Corporation(NRC) some passengers have alleged that the corporation showed more interest in making profit at the expense of providing better condition of service to passengers.
A regular passenger, Mr. Pius Mordi in an exclusive interview with LEADERSHIP said, management of NRC and the Lagos district management have, over the years, paid less attention to providing comfort in the coaches used to convey passengers on the narrow gauge Lagos mass transit train service despite making profit from regular increases in ticket fares under any slightest excuse.
He noted that,some of the passenger seats have either been damaged or not covered with leather, thus, making it uncomfortable for passengers to seat down properly.
Apart from that, Mordi said, management should address the challenge of allowing passengers to crowd inside toilets in each of the coaches during transit, making it impossible for passengers who are pressed to ease themselves when the need arises.
Another passenger, Mr. John Nnadi also tasked the management on the need to provide electricity inside the coaches used in conveying passengers at nights during return trips from Iddo to Kajola/Ijoko.
He lamented that, presently, passengers have no option than to sit in darkness inside the coaches during transit, adding that, passengers also enter and disembark coaches in darkness at Agege and Agbado railway stations during stop overs.
Mrs. Nahomi Cambili, in her remark, advised the management to repair the windows that are not in good condition so that whenever there is a downpour, the passengers will be protected.
While urging the management to consider reversing the ticket cost per passenger to N500, she said, railway service, in most parts of the world, is regarded as a social service and provided at a subsidised rate to ameliorate sufferings of the less privileged.
The Lagos district manager of the corporation, Engr. Augustine Arase, however, said the district has started refurbishing the coaches in the corporation’s fleet in phases.
According to him, the first phase of 6 coaches are currently being refurbished at Iddo and Loco workshops and will be attached to the existing coaches used in conveying passengers as soon as work is completed.
Arase stated further that, after the completion of the first phase of the project, another batch of six will be taken to the workshops for refurbishing until all the coaches used in running the mass transit trains will be refurbished.
On the issue of provision of electricity-powered coaches to provide light and power the fans inside some coaches, he promised that some are undergoing maintenance repair.
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