Several travellers trying to board the Kaduna-Abuja train at the Rigasa station in Kaduna have complained of ticket racketeering.
According to reports, as a result of this situation, desperate passengers have been forced to purchase tickets from middlemen at exorbitant prices.
Checks have revealed that the e-ticketing website of the Nigeria Railway Corporation, (NRC), has been down since Friday and travellers have been advised to purchase their tickets at the station. This, according to sources, has reportedly provided an avenue for some railway staff to liaise with middlemen to inflate the price of tickets.
According to one source, who was at the Rigasa Train station at 7:am, observed that travellers who could not purchase tickets for the 6:40am train had formed queues to purchase the 10:30am ticket. However, as at 7:40am, the ticketing window was still shut while some middlemen and influential individuals were given access to the ticketing office to purchase tickets.
It was further observed that when the ticketing windows opened, several middlemen had infiltrated the queue and bought as many as three to four tickets which were later sold to commuters at inflated prices. The economy tickets bought at N3,000 were reportedly sold at between N5,000 and N7, 000 to desperate travellers who were trying to avoid the lately insecure Kaduna-Abuja highway.
A resident of Kaduna, who said he was at the train station since 8:30am, said at the time he arrived, he had been informed that there was no ticket for the 10:30 and was advised to wait and purchase a ticket for the next train. He, however, said he chose to purchase a ticket through a middleman at N7,000.
As at 10:13am yesterday, when passengers were boarding the 10:30 train, many travellers remained stranded at the station.
