My first train ride in Nigeria had to be one of my best experiences in the country so far. To be honest, I was thrilled by the quality of service I got for such a low-cost trip. I packed my bags a night before to ensure I meet up in time with the Abuja to Kaduna train which was to depart by 7 am.
I had the option of using either the Kubwa train station or the Idu train station. I guess you decide what train station to use depending on your point of location. For me, I was there at about 5:50 am (by the way, don’t go so early since you are not in Lagos the home of traffic).
The road was so free, I got to my destination in 30 minutes and had to wait till about 6:15 am before the ticketing boots were open and we were allowed entry to the waiting hall.
There are two categories for passengers which are the first class and the regular. The first-class tickets sell for N2,500 for the normal, while the first-class express sells for N3,000. I paid N3,000 for my trip and to put it on record, the N2,500 was not available so to be safe, please have N3,000 handy.
The regular ticket was sold for N1,500 and as you would expect, we had more people opting for the regular tickets. It’s also important to know that the train has it’s departure time on display and does about 4 trips in a day. Each trip is estimated to take about 2hours and stops periodically to drop off passengers.
There was the security checkpoint before getting to the waiting hall, which had the feel of an airport but for the absence of fancy restaurants and stores. It had sitting areas and we didn’t wait so long before we were called to check-in.
We had to walk to the train but also had the option of either using the elevator or the stairs. I happily used the stairs with some others who were boarding the same train. The train left the station at 7:02 am and had no delays as is almost a norm with airlines.
I was glad to see policemen and other security personalities on the train who were stationed by each entrance and periodically moved around.
Quick information: Please do not capture images with faces of other passengers else you would be asked to delete them.
Another issue I personally think should be looked into is the use of PoS on the train. There is no PoS, hence you need your cash to buy any meal or snack. The train station also didn’t have an ATM.
On the bright side, there were charging spots to power up your gadgets while on the trip and the air-conditioning systems were turned on. The train didn’t go on an extreme speed level as one may also not notice you are in motion.
I was also elated by the beautiful scenery and cultivated land mass as we travelled through the north. After two hours and a few minutes later, we made it safely to Rigasa.
