Most people are not conversant with the fact that there is a rail station that moves from the south Nigeria to the North. My very first trip to the north I was opportuned to board a train from warri-udu delta state to Itakpe. It was wonderful, exciting, and adventurous for me. I had never been on a train so I felt really nervous, thoughts like what If i get nauseous, what If the train stops in a deserted location, these thoughts kept playing in my head because of too much movies I have seen, Well none of that happened.
On that fateful morning I kept fantasizing about how the ride would be. The train leaves warri-udu terminal by 8.30am but I woke up by 5am to get ready, I nor wan hear say train go leave me. I got there around 6am to purchase my tickets for the 8am train, surprisingly it was cost effective. The train has a number of passengers it can take, so once the tickets are maxed out they stop selling this sent everyone into a frenzy to purchase their tickets. There are VIP/Business class and economic class ticket, just like when you are boarding a flight. The difference between the VIP and economic class ticket was 500naira. Some persons had to purchase VIP tickets beforehand to avoid scrambling in line with the economic class.
Traveling from the South of Nigeria to the north by road normally takes two days. This trip was a necessity for me to get to the next aspect of my life, but the thought of being on the road for two days got me devastated and made me almost cancel. The stories we kept hearing from the north that puts people at risk was not also encouraging. I started looking for other alternative means, thats safer and cheaper in order to convey my self to the north and that's how I found out about the rail station.
The doors of the train were finally open, so I had to use my ticket number and locate my seat. The train had different coaches/car and each coach can take about 80 persons, there were about 9 coaches, so the train's capacity was about 600 persons, like it could convey about 600 persons with their luggages in one trip, staffs of the train inclusive. I located my seat by the window, it was very comfortable and there was a wall outlet to charge devices for all passengers, as I see am body sweet me, there is a TV screen in each coach, tables at the front where you can sit and eat, the Air conditioner was top notch, a convenience for male and female, a large compartment at the back of the coach for bigger luggages, a first aid room and a Surveillance room that only staffs can enter, with screens and controls to monitor the activities of the coach through the CCTV. The train blew it's horn to commence the Journey, locked it's doors, it's locomotive engine started and we were on our way. The captain gave a speech and enlightened us about passengers safety procedures, after about 10 minutes into the journey I went for site seeing, and came back shortly after to my seat. The train has it's own trail tracks and routes it takes, so there is nothing like hold up, it was a straight trip. The train stops at each terminal to drop off and pick up passengers, so it spends about 7 to 10 minutes at each terminal. Whenever the train wants to come to a stop it reduces its speed gradually until it comes to a stop. It took the train about 5 hours to get to its destination.
I alighted with my luggage and was like, wow my first train ride, I am definitely doing this again, and I did on my way back from the north. Two persons I told of the train even decided to board it back from the north with me, after showing them videos from my first trip and telling them of my wonderful experience. We purchased our tickets together and sat close to each other in the train discussing and doing snapchat, it was really fun.
The government generates revenue from the rail station and they maintain the trains and terminals as well. The constructing of the rail station has also helped to Create more job opportunities, especially for the indigenes of where terminals are located. There are two trains and both of them make just 2 trips in a day. The train from Warri-udu terminal goes to Itakpe in the morning comes back in the evening and the other one leaves in the morning at Itakpe and comes back in the evening.
If you are looking for a safer, faster, cheaper, comfortable means to travel form the South or East to the North or vice versa, the train is definitely your best option. I hope they construct more routes to connect the whole of Nigeria, it would definitely make travelling easier, cost effective and fun. It was an experience I'll never forget.
Feel free to ask me any question in the comment section, just in case you want to travel by train too or you have a loved one who wants to.