TELEMATICS (ICT) USAGE IN NIGERIAN RAILWAY OPERATIONS: A CASE STUDY OF IDDO – IJOKO ROUTE

Abstract

Over the years and in different parts of the world, railway transport carries more passengers and freight (solid and liquid) of long journeys within inter and intra regions. The issue of efficient functionalities of railway operations has been of serious concern especially in the applicability of telematics to the day-to-day operations. This study therefore is premised on the usage of ICT in railway operations with the specific objectives of evaluating the trend in passenger and freight carriage between 1963 and 2014; examining the use of ICT for sales of tickets and notification of passengers for trips cancellation as well as the functionalities of automation in railway operations. Data collection was based on secondary and primary sources as existing records on operations were collected from the Nigerian Railway Corporation while customers' perception as to the implementation of telematics were gathered through questionnaire administration. The results show that the rate of passenger and freight carriage has reduced; 82% prefer to buy train tickets online and non-terminus outlets; 70% of the respondents were never notified of trips cancellation before getting to the terminus. The study therefore recommends that the sales of train tickets be decentralized to accommodate online as well as other outlets. More so, various media such as radio, SMS, phone calls should be adopted in notification of trips delays and cancellations to prospecting passengers and cargo owners.