The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, said on Tuesday that the federal government would increase the train fare for the Abuja-Kaduna route.
Amaechi said this while addressing State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said the increase was necessary because even the train passengers agree that the cost of transportation to Kaduna via the rail was too cheap.
He said the increase would take effect after the inauguration of 10 new coaches and two locomotives for Abuja-Kaduna route by the President on Thursday.
The minister said the increase of locomotives to 14 will stop racketeering that led to the sack of the station managers, porters and ticket officials at Idu and Rigasa rail stations in August last year.
“We discussed the inauguration of 10 new coaches and two locomotives which will bring the total number of coaches to 14 on the Kaduna-Abuja route. The President is pleased with the arrangement because basically we will then be able to discharge the passengers pressure that we have had, that is why you have ticket racketeering.
“When demand is more than supply, then you see all sorts of attempts to cheat the passengers. There are two things I know the President likes. I have mentioned one, the second one, is after inauguration even the passengers agree that the cost of transportation to Kaduna via the railway is a bit too cheap.
“So, there will be a need to increase the price of the ticket and then there will be more comfort. More comfort in the sense that when you have excess seats multiply by the number of passengers that will come, then anybody that wants to racketeer will have to eat the tickets himself,” he said.
