By Omoniyi David
Barely weeks after the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), resumed operations on the Abuja-Kaduna rail line, commuters are grappling with persistent delays and operational inefficiencies.
Train services on the corridor resumed on October 1, 2025, after a one-month suspension, but passengers say punctuality and service delivery have steadily worsened since then.
The route was suspended on August 26, 2025, following a derailment at Asham Station shortly after departure from Abuja, with over 500 passengers on board. Some passengers sustained minor injuries in the incident.
The National Safety and Investigation Bureau (NSIB), later attributed the derailment to poor maintenance, damaged track sleepers and a faulty switch mechanism, partly caused by vandalism.
The bureau revealed that damaged sleepers were patched rather than properly repaired, while a manually operated switch secured with a point clip failed, leading to the accident.
Following repairs and safety checks, the NRC announced the resumption of services and said it had refunded 512 of the 583 affected passengers.
However, despite assurances of improved safety and efficiency, commuters say the rail service has continued to fall short of expectations, raising concerns about reliability on the busy Abuja-Kaduna corridor.
