Sometime ago, I traveled to Abuja International airport via the Abuja light train service from the Abuja metro station.
I traveled back to the metro station on the same train.
The ride was a lifetime experience for me and I believe, for fellow commuters.
Train Ticket from Abuja to Kaduna
I will help you understand how to take a train from Abuja to Kaduna.
However, you need a ticket to make this trip.
Here is what to know about this journey:
Train ticket from Abuja to Kaduna
The train that took me to the airport was the second train for the day.
You will get to the Abuja metro station in the Central area, 473 Constitution Avenue, Central Business District, Abuja.
If you are a first-timer in Abuja, you may not find it very easy to locate this place.
The most popular place nearest to Abuja metro station is the “Church gate”.
From Transcop Hilton hotel, I had to hire a taxi that took me to the metro station.
As I said before, the Abuja metro station is not a popular place.
Even the taxi driver I hired to take me there did not know the route.
It was me that directed the taxi driver on the routes he took to the station.
Abuja Train: Experience, Ticket Cost, Time, And Direction
I got to the metro station some minutes before the departure time of the train.
I immediately went straight to the ticketing office to buy my ticket.
The ticketing office for trains going to the airport differs from that for trains going to Kaduna.
The Abuja metro station is housed in a story building.
The building is ash in color. “Abuja Metro station” is boldly written on the building.
I had to go through a security scanner to the ticketing counter to buy my ticket.
There are two methods of payment at the station.
The first is by cash.
All you have to do is walk to the ticket sales representatives, tell them your destination, hand over the cash and they will print your ticket for you.
The second method is via a POS machine.
If you want to pay via the POS machine, insert your ATM card, select your destination, and click pay.
The machine will print your ticket immediately.
When I had paid for and gotten my ticket, I went to the waiting seats in the ticketing office to sit down with fellow passengers.
The seats for the general public are different from the VIP seats.
Any passenger who wants to eat goes to the terminal restaurant to eat.
I was not sure the kind of foods they sell at that restaurant, but the way I saw things, I believe they sell good foods there.
Any passenger who did not have breakfast or Lunch at home does not have anything to worry about, because he has the opportunity to buy good food at the metro station.
The Boarding
All the passengers were called to enter the train 10 minutes before the scheduled departure time.
All of us had to queue for our tickets to be confirmed.
We all presented our tickets for checking, and confirmation before we were allowed to enter the train.
On Board The Train
When the ticket checking clerk confirmed my ticket, she permitted me to get on the train.
I went in and sat on a sit.
While I was inside the train, I saw no cabin attendant, no rest room, and no security on board the train.
The arraignment of the seats was in linear form, which gave no room for standing.
It simply implies that, if you do not have a seat you have to stand for the next 40 minutes from the metro station to the airport or you will stand for the next 20 minutes if Idu station is your destination.
What a long distance to stand.
I have been keeping a tab on the developments in this metro station from the onset of train services in it.
Now, I want to tell you all you
need to know about booking the ticket for this train
online.
Using your desktop and smartphone, you can follow these steps if you want to book the train on the website.
The guide is for those who do not want to install the mobile app on their phones.
How to Book a Train
Step One
Create an account to proceed with the booking process.
After you have created an account, click on the sign-up button.
Enter your email address in the space provided for it, and all other information required from you.
A confirmation mail will immediately be sent to your email address.
Having seen the confirmation mail, go back to the website to continue the booking process.
Step Two
Select your route and the date.
Right there on the website, you will select the station you want to take off from and your intending destination.
Next, select the date you want to travel.
Note that you can only book for that day or the next.
There is no provision for a date that is far.
That is good anyways.
If you have selected your route, click on “find my train”.
Step Three
Select the date train time and class of service.
When you have selected the date and route you want to travel, you will see the trains available for that date displayed on your phone.
Select the time you choose to travel and the class you want to travel to.
The classes available will be either economy class or business class.
If you are through with that, select the coach of your choice.
Every train is divided into coaches.
Select a seat
The coach seat arrangement automatically appears immediately after you select a coach.
You now have to select the particular sit you want a seat.
The seats you will see appearing in green color are the available seats, while the seats you see appearing in other colors are selected already.
You can go on to select another coach if the one you want to select is full.
Where there is no available train on the date you selected, you will receive a message like, ’No trains available for your selection, Please modify your source and destination’.
FAQs
How much is Abuja to Kaduna train fare?
Rigasa is the name of the train Nigerian Railway Corporation operates from Abuja to Kaduna with.
It runs on five scheduled trips a day.
The ticket costs between $7 and $15, and the trip is a 2-hour, 11-minutes journey.
How can I buy a train ticket from Kaduna to Abuja?
You can buy the Kaduna to Abuja train ticket online or at the train station.
What time is the train from Abuja to Kaduna?
Traveling from Abuja to Kaduna by train takes about 3 hours and 50-minutes, including transfers.
