President Muhammadu Buhari will today flag off the newly completed Abuja (ldu) -Kaduna (Rigasa) train service for commercial operation, a journey that takes two and half hours.
According to a statement from Yetunde Sonaike, director, press and public relations, ministry of transportation, stakeholders in the transport sector will attend the event, which will take off at the Idu Railway Terminal.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation has been test running the train service by moving people free of charge from Abuja to Kaduna and back since June 15, 2016.
The statement further explains that the Abuja – Kaduna train service is part of the ongoing efforts and commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to provide modern, safe and affordable means of transportation in the country and will serve as a vehicle for delivering sustainable socio-economic development, social harmony and political stability.
Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, had last week at the final test run of the train, said commuters plying the Abuja-Kaduna route on the revitalised rail system would pay N500 for the economy class and N900 for business class once the Presidency commissions the project.
Amaechi said the test run lasted longer than planned to enable as many people as possible had a feel of the train and ensure that there were no problems with the trains.
“One of the reasons why we did not commission earlier is because we wanted the train to run for at least a month and check if there will be any problem, but we have done that for over a month and there was no problem,” he said.
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
