The Minister of Transportation, Muazu Sambo has said the suspended Abuja-Kaduna train service will resume in the next one week.
Contrary to the reports that the service would resume on Monday, the Minister during the inspection said the resumption would take a few more days. According to him, the few days would enable passengers to prepare adequately and get familiar with the newly introduced security measures.
Recall that the train service was suspended after an attack by bandits on the rail facility on March 28, 2022. The attack led to the death of some passengers with about 60 kidnapped while several others were injured. Following their rescue, the Minister, while reeling out the scorecard of the ministry earlier in the month, had assured that the train service would resume in November.
Eight months after the attack, the Minister, yesterday, embarked on an assessment tour of the rail infrastructure in preparation for resumption.
The Minister also said the number of trips has been reduced, adding that there will no longer be night trips. He also said passengers should expect an increase in ticket fares.
He further said, “If you dont have NIN you are not going to board our train. It is as simple as that. If you are a minor, an adult will pay for you and will register for you and an adult can only register for not more than four minors”.
On the security measures put in place to ensure real-time monitoring of the rail infrastructure, the Minister said: That has been put in place, but we are not going to tell you what we have done. It is a security matter.
