No fewer than 26 passengers and onboard personnel sustained injuries on Monday following a train incident along the Abuja–Kaduna rail corridor, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has confirmed.
The disruption, which occurred at about 9:16 a.m. near Asham Station, involved an internal collision within the train formation, raising fresh concerns over safety standards on one of Nigeria’s busiest rail routes.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the NRC Managing Director, Kayode Opeifa, disclosed that a loud bang was heard when the power car and a trailing locomotive collided with one of the passenger coaches.
According to him, preliminary findings point to a possible fault with one or more couplers connecting parts of the train.
“The train departed Jere Station at 8:59 a.m., six minutes behind schedule due to the coupling of locomotive 2809 to the rake to enhance operational resilience,” Opeifa said.
He added that the incident occurred between kilometre points 50 and 51 as the train approached Asham Station.
Despite the impact, Opeifa noted that none of the coaches derailed, although three components, locomotive 2809, power car BVA0002, and passenger coach SP0006, were detached from the train following the incident.
A total of 481 individuals were onboard at the time, including 429 passengers, 10 crew members, 26 security personnel, six food vendors, eight cleaners, and two third-party operators.
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“A total of 26 people with varying degrees of injuries were recorded among passengers, medical crew, cleaners, and security personnel attached to the service,” he said.
The affected train eventually resumed movement at 9:42 a.m., arriving at Kubwa at 10:10 a.m. and terminating at the Idu Station at 10:39 a.m., with a cumulative delay of 38 minutes.
Operations on the route were later restored the same day, with the Abuja–Kaduna service resuming in the afternoon, albeit behind schedule.
