The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has enjoined members of the public to ignore information on a fake website developed by cyber criminals inviting them to visit fictitious cyberspace to obtain Lagos-Ibadan passenger train tickets online,
According to a statement endorsed by deputy director, public relations, NRC, Mr. Mahmood Yakub, the NRC is yet to commence selling Lagos-Ibadan train tickets online.
He said the fake information might have been circulatef by fraudsters intending to scam unsuspecting train passengers.
The deputy director, therefore, advised passengers to be wary of these fraudulent cyber criminals, by obtaining their train boarding tickets at railway stations.
Meanwhile, the NRC is working hard to introduce secure online ticketing on the Lagos-Ibadan and Warri-Itakpe train services very soon,
Presently, only Abuja-Kaduna train passengers that can obtain tickets online.
Railway subsidiary: RPMC develops properties to complement train operations
As part of deliberate policy to diversify from core mandate of providing passenger and freight train services, the management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has, with its subsidiary, Railway Property Management Company Limited (RPMC), concluded plans of commercializing a shopping/residential complex rehabilitated by the latter.
The railway property company also built a police station near Bola Ahmed Tinubu railway station in Apapa, Lagos, which was last Thursday handed over to management of NRC for onward transfer to Nigerian Railway Police.
Speaking at a brief inauguration of the shopping/residential complex, Director, Rail Transport Services, Federal Ministry of Transport, Engr. Finbarr Zirra, said rail service all over the world is a social service that may not generate profit.
According to him divestment into other areas of business like property development and leasing of land will no doubt enhance the revenue of the corporation.
Corroborating, managing director of the corporation, Engr. Fidet Okhiria, commended foresight of management Railway Property Management Company Limited for constructing the complex and plans to commercialize it.
He noted that revenue generated from the proceeds of the complex will be used to supplement revenue generated from the provision of passenger and freight train service so as to meet the recurrent expenditure of the corporation.
“We are diversifying gradually so as to expend our revenue base. We don’t want to wake up one day and hear that we cannot pay salaries,” the NRC boss declared.
According to him, the mixed complex boasts of 48 lock-up shops on the first and second floors, while the third floor has seven one-bedroom self-contained flats.
Okhiria pointed out that, as a residential-cum-shopping complex, there would be checks and balances concerning insecurity, adding that the eight toilets should be allotted to shop owners accordingly so as to ensure proper maintenance.
The managing director Railway Property Management Company Limited, Mr. Timothy Zalanga, said the complex would be commercialized and managed by a separate entity, based on some terms of payment. within a stipulated period.
He disclosed that the three-storey complex formerly served as quarters for railway staff but was gutted by fire, forcing management of NRC to relocate staff affected before RPMC offered to transform the building into a shopping/residential complex.
He stated further that the company built a similar shopping complex in Kano and Kaduna, adding that over 400 applications have been received for the renewal of lease agreements from some organizations doing business on railway lands nationwide.
In a separate development, management of Nigerian Railway Property Company Limited handed over the keys of a police station building worth N40 million to the management of Nigerian Railway Corporation at a brief ceremony in Apapa.
The NRC boss in his remarks on the occasion said the construction of the police station was sequel to directive of former Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, that a new police station be constructed alongside a car park with space so as to accommodate enough cars of train passengers.
He described security as the key to successful train operations, noting that the keys to the police station would be handed over to the Nigerian Railway Police for the comfort of the officers.
According to him: “If the police personnel work in a conducive environment, the tendency is that it will motivate them to perform their functions effectively.”
The managing director Nigerian Railway Property Company Limited expressed delight over the completion of work within the eight-month stipulated period.
He said that the building had four offices, two cells for male and female inmates, as well as toilets.
Concerns as hoodlums cart away 300 bags of cement at railway construction site
There were mixed reactions as suspected hoodlums, numbering over 10, recently stormed the construction site of railway overpass at Agbado Crossing, in Ogun State, and carted away 300 bags of cement in a container belonging to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).
This happened penultimate midweek morning despite engagement of private security men and local guards to keep watch over building materials used for the ongoing construction of Agbado Crossing overpass along the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge railway corridor.
According to a resident of Akintoye Street, where the container loaded with cement was kept, “I heard a loud sound at about 2.00 a.m. penultimate Wednesday and when I woke up from sleep I observed from a vantage position of my room upstairs that a vehicle was parked with so many people milling around it.
“After forcing the container open without any obstruction, I noticed that some bags of cement where loaded into the parked vehicle and carted away to an unknown destination.”
She explained further after this discovery in the morning, the vandalized container with the remaining content of 600 bags of cement was immediately evacuated from the scene following the instruction of CCECC officials.
When our correspondent arrived the construction site, CCCECC officials, a military officer attached to the company, alongside the private security guard who ransacked the container, discovered that 300 out of 900 bags of cement stored in the container were missing.
On interrogation, the private security guard employed to secure the container could not give any tangible explaination, while his Odua Peoples’ Congress counterpart could not be found for questioning.
In the same vein, there have been concerns, as CCECC truck drivers allegedly collaborate with some residents near Agbado overpass to siphon diesel with hose pipes from truck tanks into jerry cans, which aretaken away on motor bikes already stationed.
PTAD commences audit of 3,000 NRC retirees in Lagos
No fewer than 3,000 retirees of Nigerian Railway Corporation, under the aegis of Federal Paraststals and Private Sector Pensioners Association of Nigeria, have been advised to take advantage of the ongoing verification exercise being conducted by Pension Transition Administration Directorate (PTAD) to verify themselves.
The verification exercise, according to the chairman of the railway pensioners’ group, Comrade Sule Mohammed, will enable the directorate to authenticate if a pensioner is still alive and eligible to collect monthly pension.
He explained further that pensioners are expected to complete the verification after thumbprinting, physical photo capture, filling a form online at any business centre after logging into the website as directed.
The chairman, however, enjoined pensioners who do not understand the process to register at the group’s office in Ebute-Metta with a view to be listed for the verification exercise at a designated business center near the office.
According to him, the verification exercise is expected to last for a period of 6 months from July ending to February next year.