A Torturous TrainRide

They were eager to travel home by rail. They did, but the journey was harrowing for students, who travelled from Ilorin to the Southwest during the Yuletide. HAMEED MURITALA (300-Level Mass Communication, University of Ilorin) writes.
Lagos by train”, “Abeokuta by train”, “Ibadan by train”, “train lo sure ju” (train is the surest method of transportation). These are some of the phrases one hears from students of higher institutions the Southwest and parts of North Central, particularly Kwara State anytime they are travelling home on holidays.
The last Yuletide break was not different. Students of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) and Kwara State Polytechnic (KWARA POLY) and other institutions from neighbouring states such as the Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUT MINNA) and the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) besieged the Ilorin terminal of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
They were travelling home to celebrate Christmas with their families. Students joined the swarm of travellers at terminals in Offa, Osogbo and Ibadan.
They thronged the railway stations with their luggage amid excitement. “For the first time in my life, I will travel from Ilorin to Lagos by rail,” said Olamide Azeez, an Abeokuta-bound passenger and 200-Level Sociology student of UNILORIN. “Elderly people always mock younger ones like me that our generation is not lucky to enjoy inter-state railway trip such as this,” Olamide added.
As early as 5am on December 23, the student-travellers got to the train station in Ilorin to purchase tickets for convenient seats in the coaches. Olamide said: “I came here with my friends from FUT MINNA and FUTA very early so that we could all get comfortable places to sit inside the train. On getting there, we even met some people who slept overnight at the station. “Apart from its affordability, I choose to go to Abeokuta by rail particularly because it is safer than road transportation,” the student added.
A few minutes before 7am, NRC officials started selling the tickets to travellers at the Ilorin terminal. There were first class and second class tickets. Their prices varied according to distance. For instance, a first class ticket for Ilorin-Lagos by rail cost N1,020; second class, N720.
Intermittently, the queues were disrupted by shunts and other eager passengers. In the chaotic exercise, some of the students sustained injuries, others lost personal effects such as wristwatches, wallets and mobile phones.
The overcrowded train left the Ilorin station by 9am amid greetings from food and recharge card vendors. The coaches were overcrowded, a situation which made passengers to sit in the trains toilets. Some hanged by the entrances; others sat on the roof of the coaches.
The journey turned out to be a disappointment for some. Akeem Adebayo, ND II Business Administration, KWARA POLY, rued the moment he decided to travel to Lagos by rail.
“I got to the train station around 6:30am, after which I bought a ticket and yet, I could not get a place to sit inside the train. I don’t think I have made a good decision by travelling by train because as I stand here, I am suffering myself for nothing,” he said
Abiodun Olatunji, 300-Level Mass Communication, UNILORIN, said: “If it is not that I want to see my family members this Christmas, I would not have travelled today, because the stress is too much. You can see that I will have to stand here (coach entrance) till we get to Abeokuta. This is outright discomfort.”
The affordability of the fare was the reason many of the students jumped aboard the train to their various home. According to Abdulwasiu Esuola, 200-Level Law, UNILORIN, the fare from Ilorin to Lagos is cheaper by rail compared to fare of road transport. “The journey to Lagos by bus would have cost me N2,500 but I paid only N720 by train,” he said.
The train had a stopover at Offa, Osogbo, Ede, Iwo, Ibadan and Abeokuta stations, before it finally berthed Lagos around 8pm. As they alighted from the train at each terminal, they exercised their body parts to stretch the stiff organs. Some of them urged the NRC to improve on the service by bringing comfortable coaches.
Abiola Laoye, 200-Level Engineering student of FUT MINNA, urged the government to fast-track the rehabilitation project of the rail transport, saying “this project will make travel by rail interesting for the passengers and create jobs for the people.”