By Fidelis Ugbomeh
After the initial lull and chaos that heralded the introduction of online booking by the management of Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) on November 1, 2023, for passengers en route Lagos-Ibadan and Warri-Itakpe standard gauge railway corridor, there has been remarkable improvement in the number of passengers making payments online.
According to the Lagos district manager of the corporation, Engr. Augustine Arase, prospective passengers book online through the Nigerian Railway Corporation’s portal and not payment of cash at the ticket counters as obtained in the past.
He noted that each propective passenger is expected to fill a registration form indicating National Identity Card number, e-mail number, date of travel, coach and destination before making payments through transfer with automated teller card, after which a code will displayed.
Arase explained further that: “After making payment, eligible passengers then proceed to the railway station ticketing office for authentification of the code generated and a receipt would be issued at the ticket counter to such passenger before boarding the train.”
As for passengers who cannot book online from the comfort of their homes, he stated that such passengers can make their bookings at the train stations within three minutes of arrival.
He advised passengers to arrive the train stations 30 minutes before departure so as to complete the process of booking early enough.
The district manager posited that, in order to ensure that passengers board the train from Lagos to Ibadan at the stop over stations nearest to their residence, the train scheduled stop over and pick passengers at Agbado and Papalanto.