The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has confirmed that 26 passengers and crew sustained varying degrees of injuries following a train incident along the Abuja–Kaduna rail line on Monday, March 16.
In a statement shared on Tuesday via X, the NRC Managing Director, Kayode Opeifa, disclosed that the incident happened around 9:16 a.m. close to Asham Station, when a loud noise was heard as parts of the train formation collided.
He explained that the Kaduna-Abuja service (KA-2) left Rigassa Station at 7:15 a.m. and reached Jere Station slightly ahead of schedule at 8:52 a.m.
“The train departed Jere at 8:59 a.m., six minutes behind schedule due to the coupling of locomotive 2809 to the rake to create more resilience,” he said.
Opeifa further noted that the incident occurred between kilometre points 50 and 51 as the train approached Asham Station.
“At about 9:16 a.m., a loud bang was heard as the power car and trailing locomotive collided with one of the coaches. Preliminary reports suggest an issue with one or more couplers.
“None of the coaches derailed, and the reason for the possible decoupling is yet to be ascertained,” he said.
He added that the affected components locomotive 2809, power car BVA0002, and passenger coach SP0006 were later separated from the rest of the train.
Despite the incident, the train resumed movement at 9:42 a.m., arrived at Kubwa by 10:10 a.m., and reached its final stop at Idu Station at 10:39 a.m., resulting in a delay of 38 minutes.
Providing further details, Opeifa revealed that 481 individuals were on board, including 429 passengers out of 459 who had booked tickets. Others included 10 crew members, 26 security personnel, six food vendors, eight cleaners, and two third-party staff.
“A total of 26 people with varying degrees of injuries were recorded among the passengers, medical crew, cleaners, and security personnel attached to the service,” he said.
On recovery efforts, the NRC boss stated that operations resumed later that day. The Abuja–Kaduna service recommenced with the AK1 trip from Idu to Rigassa at 2:48 p.m., instead of the scheduled 11:00 a.m. departure.
He added that the train arrived at Rigassa at 5:33 p.m., with him and other NRC officials on board. A return trip then departed Rigassa at 6:12 p.m., reaching Kubwa at 8:31 p.m. and Idu at 8:58 p.m.