Abuja-Kaduna train passengers have raised concerns over epileptic services since the aftermath of the attack on a passenger train on March 28, 2022.
Recall that at some point, the train service was a convenient alternative to plying the Abuja-Kaduna Road, which became deadly spots for bandits’ attacks. However, since the attack on the train, which led to the suspension of the service, the fortunes of the train service have continued to dwindle even after the federal announced resumption of service.
The derailment of the train on the Abuja corridor in January this year did not help matters, as although nobody died from the accident, it has further discouraged passengers from patronising the service.
It was gathered that the train service is no longer effective as it used to be, and is greeted with low patronage and presently runs one-trip daily from both ends. Checks at the Rigasa station in Kaduna showed that the train service only runs one trip to and fro daily. The train leaves the station in Kaduna for Abuja by 3pm.
According to some passengers who frequented the train service in the past, they no longer had patience to ply the train, saying it had outlived its purpose. Others expressed hope that the government would see the need to return the train service to how it was, as taxpayer’s resources have been used to make the service viable.
The NRC Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fidet Okhiria, didn’t respond to a test message and calls to his phone. However, a top management staff at the NRC said the reduced operations were based on security concerns. Recall the facility came under terrorism attack, which led to the suspension of train operations for over eight months.
According to the top management staff, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the NRC is working to upscale the train services. He noted that security was paramount; hence the downscaling of services. He, however, said the NRC was up-scaling with an additional train by next week. “We are introducing one more service, to make it two from Rigasa and two from Abuja. That’s four services per day. We reduced our operating hours due to security. We were doing 10 services per day before the attacks”, he stated.
“We no longer operate night services”, he added.
