We have not commenced e-ticketing – NRC

Amidst the protracted controversy of online ticket racketeering at the Abuja/Kaduna rail line, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has debunked the news circulating on the social media, describing it as the hand work of political enemies. The Managing Director, Engr. Fidet Okhiria disclosed this on Friday in Abuja. According to him, there is a website circulating on social media for passengers to purchase tickets online saying it’s a fraudulent site and Nigerians should desist from such site. “It is not true and has been making efforts to let people know that we have not started. That is a fraudulent website and when we do it, we will tell people. “ Because have been telling people that we require it to be very secured, so that people cannot hack into it and do ugly things, so we have not started and Nigerians should know that we have not started the e-ticketing. “So, I will appeal to them that they should not patronise a site for ticketing issues, we still sell our tickets in hard copy at the stations,” he said. He however, noted that the process of the E-ticketing was ongoing stating that it was going to be under public Private Partnership (PPP) which has to go through due process. Okhiria, stated that by first quarter of 2019, all the processes should be over by ICRC for the automated tickets to commence. “We have gone very far, we want to partner with private companies so that there will be reliability, it is presently with ICRC so that all due process will be met, I hope by first quarter of 2019, and we would have finished the processes. “We are trying to do PPP arrangements; there are some infrastructure that needs to be put in place so that the stations can have one entry in and one entrance out. “It is only then that E-ticketing can make sense, not when all the stations are porous, they have to be a control exist point which will have to go through ICRC.” Also, Mr Paschal Nnorli, Manager, Abuja – Kaduna Train Service has appealed to passengers to desist from fake messages requesting for passengers to buy and reserve tickets online. He however stated that such messages didn’t emanate from NRC. According to the management, its attention was drawn to a fake online message requesting prospective passengers on Abuja – Kaduna train route to buy or reserve tickets online by visiting a certain website. “The general public especially our esteem passengers on Abuja – Kaduna Train Service are pleased advised not to patronise any of such calls as they did not emanate from NRC. “For clarity sake, NRC train tickets for now are obtainable in hard copy only from designated railway stations. Prospective passengers are therefore advised to buy their tickets only from NRC designated ticket offices and not through any other means,” he said. Idu Jude, Abuja