Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has disclosed that the Abuja-Kaduna rail service would resume its operation on July 29.
Amaechi disclosed this while test-running new coaches recently deployed on the route on Saturday, Punch reports.
Train services have been shut down since March to curtail the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
According to the minister, there has been pressure from several quarters to resume the railway service before Sallah.
On the fare, Amaechi said after due considerations, the President Muhammadu Buhari agreed that the fare be reviewed to accommodate well-meaning Nigerians.
The minister reiterated that measures are already in place to ensure all safety precautions were taken to curtail the spread of COVID-19 onboard trains.
Speaking, the Managing Director, Nigeria Railway Corporation, Fidet Okhiria, expressed that the corporation is ready for the resumption on Wednesday.
Okhiria said;
We are ready, it is just a matter of calling the essential workers in the station. We have been checking the coaches and warming the locomotives, so we are ready to go.
On the frequency of trips on the route, Okhiria said the plan was to get it to 14 trips per day as against the initial eight.
He explained that for Wednesday, however, only eight trips would be embarked on because of the introduction of the Diesel Multiple Unit, 10 new coaches, and two locomotives that have arrived.
The director added that;
So the DMU are still on their way from Lagos to Abuja and we have to adjust, don’t forget the ticket for the DMU is not the same as the ordinary coaches so we have to adjust and have those tickets.
The e-ticket has been approved but it will take time of up to three months for it to come to the doorsteps. While we are doing that, the best move is to be giving out the hard copy of the ticket before the e-ticket starts.
