Yemisi Izuora
The Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC, has started test bookings for its e-ticketing platform 15 months after the plan was announced in September 2019.
The Minister of Transport, Chibiuke Amaechi, said in a monitored tweet on Wednesday.
According to the Transport Minister, the pilot test would begin with the Abuja-Kaduna rail line.
Amaechi said, “Yes, we have commenced test bookings on the NRC E-ticketing platform, starting with the Abuja-Kaduna rail line. Next week, we’ll launch fully. Check it out and make bookings at: https://nrc.tps.ng.”
The development comes after the government announced plans to switch to e- ticketing in September 2019.
The Director-General, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, Engr Chidi Izuwa, had said the automated ticketing platform is expected to hit N16bn in the next ten years.
He said, “What is interesting is that because of how popular the rail service is that under the inspiration of the President, this transaction is for ten years and over those ten years, the financial model shows that NRC and the Federal Government will earn over N16bn as revenue from the ticketing system.
“That will provide additional revenue for the government. So basically, we have turned a problem into an opportunity.”
Africa’s biggest economy has embarked on massive rail projects to boost its transport infrastructures.
Most funding for the projects amounting to $5.3bn came from China.