…Customers to provide phone numbers, National identification Numbers before buying tickets; Sambo travels the tracks to assure on Safety ***
The Federal Government says train services between the Abuja and Kaduna route will resume within seven days from Nov. 27. Customers must however provide phone and National Identification numbers before buying tickets.
The Minister of Transportation Mua’zu Sambo disclosed this on Sunday while inspecting the test running of the train route.
The Minister said that this was to enable passengers to get used to the new requirements for enjoying the train service.
He said: ”The issue of whether the train will start tomorrow or not, we have not said the train services will start tomorrow.
”I want to be very categorical about that. Now, we have introduced a new system before you buy a ticket.
”Your purchase of a ticket requires you to provide a phone number and a national identification number in order to profile because that is the beginning of the security checks.
”So, at any point in time when a train moves from one station to another, we know who and who is on board.
”If you don’t have a NIN you are not going to board our train. It is as simple as that.
”If you are a minor, an adult will pay for you and will register for you and an adult can only register for not more than four minors.”
Sambo added that: ”Now, we want to give sufficient time for the Nigerian public to listen to these and assimilate this new system, because if we start tomorrow, a lot of people will be disgruntled.
”Definitely between three, four, five days, certainly not more than a week.”
He assured Nigerians that 90 percent arrangements had been completed for the smooth commencement of the services.
Sambo added that the remaining 10 percent measures would be achieved in a couple of days for a smooth commencement.
”I think we are 90 percent ready as far as what we are set out to do is concerned.
”The remaining 10 percent I am sure would be achieved in the next couple of days for full resumption of train services.
”Certain concrete measures that are feasible include ticketing. Security starts from ticketing so now you don’t buy a ticket unless you have a valid phone number and you have a NIN.
”And if you are a foreigner you also have a means of identification you can use which is produced by the National Identity Management Commission.
”Having secured your ticket, you will not get access to the lounge until the machine reads the barcode in your receipt.
”Your details will show and your complete profile will show on the screen. Only then will you be allowed to go into the lounge. This is what we call customer profiling,” Sambo said.
According to the minister, there will be an increased number of security personnel some of which may not be wearing uniforms in order to guarantee the safety of passengers.
He said: ”The other thing is that for every journey the train is monitored every second and the train driver can see up to a certain distance.
”If there are any threats on the track, that would enable him march the break before getting to the perceived threat.”
Sambo explained that there would be a reduced number of trips on the route and as the traveling population picked, the number of trips would increase.
”But we will certainly not travel at night,” he said.
He further said that some other sensitive equipment that would not be disclosed had also been put in place to ensure the safety of life and property.
On fares, he said discussions were in place and the fares could be increased.
”My assurance to Nigerians is that even I will be using the train and other of my counterparts who have homes in Kaduna.
” In fact, from next week they will start using this train so I am giving Nigerians full assurance that a human being can give that this train is safe for them to use.
”There is absolutely nothing to fear. We have learnt from what has happened and life is about learning lessons and adopting measures with the lessons.
”As a responsible government, we have seen those lessons and we have devised appropriate measures to counter it.
”Like I always say that I was not going to allow this train to resume until everybody in captivity was released and to the glory of God I have achieved that.”
The train services along the corridor were halted due to terrorist attack on March 28 which led to loss of lives and kidnap of some passengers.
In the meantime, the Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, has expressed satisfaction over the level of security measures put in place along the Abuja- Kaduna train route, ahead of the resumption of service after being shut down for eight months following attack by terrorists.
The Minister indicated this on Sunday in Kaduna during an inspection of security and other measures put in place to forestall subsequent attack that may occur in the course of plying the Abuja-Kaduna corridor after resumption.
Sambo also reiterated that the use of National Identification Number (NIN) is now compulsory for purchase of train tickets while adults can only use their NIN to register for not more than four minors, adding that it would also take care of ticket racketeering.
The Minister also expressed confidence that the measures put in place is adequate enough for the train service to commence.
“There are sensitive equipment which we have deployed that I will not reveal. The other thing I can tell you is that for every journey, the train is monitored every second on the screen.
”The train driver can see from a distance if there are any threats on the tracts that will enable him match the break long before getting to the threat, and that is why I am telling you confidently,” said the Minister.
The Minister debunked the rumor that train services will resume on Monday, adding that the newly introduced measures will delay the resumption of business along the corridor for a few more days for passengers to get acquainted with the new protocol involved in train boarding before it will resume service.
“We have not said that train services will start tomorrow. I want to be very categorical about that.
“Now, we have introduced a new system before you buy a ticket. The purchase of a ticket requires you to provide a phone number and a national identification number in order to profile you because that is the beginning of the security checks. So at any point in time when a train moves from one station to another, we know who is on boar
“If you don’t have a NIN you are not going to board our train, it is as simple as that. If you are a minor, an adult will register for you and an adult can only register for not more than four minors.
“Now, we want to give sufficient time for the Nigerian public to listen to these two requirements, to assimilate this new system. So if you go and start tomorrow, a lot of people will be disgruntled. Why didn’t they tell us that this is a new way of doing it? Why didn’t they give us adequate time to do it? So we want to give you adequate time. Definitely between 3,4,5 days, certainly not more than a wee
Sambo assures Nigerians that a smooth and secure train ride is guaranteed, also noted that the trains will not travel at night for now, while there is also going to be a review in train fare
“I can assure you that we are a very sensitive government and will consider the masses in the review of the train fare
We are not going to tell you what we have done. It is a security matter and I have no apologies for that.
“We’ll be monitoring it on a daily basis and improve on wherever we find some snags.
“The ticketing called e-ticketing has already been contracted to a company called secure ID. That concession has gone through the entire concession process under extant laws, including approval by the Federal Executive Council. So that concession remains in place for the duration of the concession period, which I think is 10 years.
Sambo said that although only God can guarantee maximum security, he assured Nigerians that everything is in place to guarantee a secure and smooth train ride.
“We are not going to tell you what we have done. It is a security matter and I have no apologies for that.
“We’ll be monitoring it on a daily basis and improve on wherever we find some snacks.
The Minister assured that Secured ID will continue to handle the e-ticketing service.
“The ticketing called e-ticketing has already been contracted to a company called secure ID. That concession has gone through the entire concession process under extant laws, including approval by the Federal Executive Council. So that concession remains in place for the duration of the concession period, which I think is 10 years.
The Minister was accompanied by the Minster of State for Transportation, Ademola Adegoroye; Minister of Water Resources Eng. Suleiman Adamu; Managing Director, Nigeria Railway Corporation Fidet Okhiria; Chairman Governing Board Nigeria Railway Corporation Ibrahim Musa amongst others.
